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    Tony Barber

    European Comment Editor

    Tony Barber is European comment editor of the Financial Times. He is a former foreign correspondent in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, the former Soviet Union, the US and the former Yugoslavia.
    Email Tony Barber @TonyBarber8  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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    • Saturday, 25 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Macron confronts a mistrustful France Premium content

      Battle over pensions reform points to deeper social and political cleavages in a discontented republic

    • Saturday, 18 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Divided Georgia searches for elusive political stability Premium content

      Strongman rule, minority tensions and Russian intervention disrupt democracy in the south Caucasus state

    • Friday, 17 March, 2023
      Television
      The new weather forecast: cloudy with a chance of politicisation

      Rain or shine, meteorological bulletins have tended to display neutrality hidden by clouds of bias

    • Saturday, 11 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Europe’s troubled centre-right flirts with hardline partners Premium content

      Mainstream conservatives are struggling with a shrinking electoral base and the rise of nationalists and populists

    • Friday, 10 March, 2023
      UK immigration
      Britain and the EU are making a deadly hash of tackling irregular migration

      Comprehensive solutions are hard to devise, but illegal and inhumane measures are not the way forward

    • Saturday, 4 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Poland commands centre stage in a reshaped Europe Premium content

      Praise for Warsaw’s support for Ukraine is mixed with concern over disputes with Germany and the EU

    • Saturday, 25 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Putin’s thirst for war, conquest and revenge is unquenched Premium content

      Ukraine girds itself for a second year of fighting against Russia for its independence and national identity

    • Tuesday, 21 February, 2023
      Instant InsightVladimir Putin
      Putin’s ultimate aim is to seal Russia off from the west

      The president’s state of the nation speech shows how domestic repression is closely tied to the Ukraine campaign

    • Saturday, 18 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Moldova eyes the west as Russia’s war rages in Ukraine Premium content

      A troubled 20th-century history and the relationship with Romania will shape the young state’s future

    • Saturday, 11 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Russia’s war reverses anti-Americanism in Europe Premium content

      Public attitudes towards the US are becoming more positive despite antipathies rooted in history and cultural outlook

    • Wednesday, 8 February, 2023
      History books
      De Gaulle grandson veers off the statesman’s track

      History contains some notable examples of progeny with more extreme politics than their parents or grandparents

    • Saturday, 4 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Corruption in Europe: a continent divided Premium content

      Western and northern states score better in Transparency International’s closely watched report than those to the east and south

    • Saturday, 28 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      EU and US step up pressure for a Kosovo-Serbia settlement Premium content

      War is waking up western governments to the need for more vigorous diplomacy in the Balkans

    • Saturday, 21 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      Rasputin’s shadow spreads over Russia’s Wagner group Premium content

      The once secretive organisation plays a prominent role in the Ukraine war and is also blending into domestic politics

    • Saturday, 14 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      Charting a road map for the European Political Community Premium content

      Europe’s latest new organisation unites 44 states but its purpose and value remain open questions

    • Saturday, 7 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      Europe and China in 2023: an agreement to disagree? Premium content

      Friction between the two sides is growing but neither wants to provoke a complete breakdown of the relationship

    • Saturday, 31 December, 2022
      ObituaryReligion
      Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, 1927 - 2022

      German-born theologian became first pontiff to abdicate since the Middle Ages

    • Wednesday, 28 December, 2022
      Russian politics
      Central Asia emerges gingerly from the shadow of Russia

      Regional leaders fret that the Kremlin is no longer a guarantor of order and at worst could turn into a threat

    • Saturday, 24 December, 2022
      Europe ExpressWar in Ukraine
      Russia’s aggression strengthens Ukrainian national identity Premium content

      As a war of attempted imperial conquest proceeds in eastern Europe, western Europe reassesses its age of colonialism

    • Saturday, 24 December, 2022
      Language and grammar
      Year in a word: Zeitenwende

      A German concept that reflects this fraught era, conjured up by chancellor Olaf Scholz

    • Saturday, 17 December, 2022
      Europe Express
      Italy scores well on foreign policy, less well on the economy Premium content

      The new coalition led by Giorgia Meloni is standing firm on Ukraine but showing no obvious taste for overdue economic reforms

    • Saturday, 10 December, 2022
      Europe Express
      Germany reassesses Angela Merkel Premium content

      A foiled far-right plot shows democracy is strong, but the former chancellor’s legacy is under critical scrutiny

    • Wednesday, 7 December, 2022
      German politics
      Foiled plot highlights Germany’s far-right problem

      The attempted coup posed no real threat to democracy but complacency about future plots is dangerous

    • Saturday, 3 December, 2022
      Europe Express
      Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children stir accusations of genocide Premium content

      Western governments, human rights groups and the UN unite in condemning acts that follow a historical pattern

    • Saturday, 26 November, 2022
      Europe Express
      Erdoğan charts an unconventional economic path to re-election Premium content

      Even an opposition victory in next year’s polls would not greatly change Turkey’s muscular foreign policy

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