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Tony Barber

European Comment Editor

Tony Barber is Europe 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)
Email Tony Barber @TonyBarber8  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Saturday, 2 July, 2022
    Europe Express
    War excites speculation about the possible break-up of Russia Premium content

    As the Kremlin looks to annex parts of Ukraine, some analysts are wondering if Putin’s aggression may go dramatically wrong

  • Saturday, 25 June, 2022
    Europe Express
    A gust of instability unsettles European politics Premium content

    Domestic challenges as much as the war in Ukraine are turning up the pressure in France, Bulgaria and Italy

  • Thursday, 23 June, 2022
    Summer Books 2022
    Best summer books of 2022: History

    Tony Barber selects his best mid-year reads

  • Wednesday, 22 June, 2022
    Russian politics
    Putinism delays a reformist turn in the cycle of Russian history

    A less repressive system will surely emerge one day, but the west’s influence over political change will be limited

  • Saturday, 18 June, 2022
    Europe Express
    The EU’s uneasy steps in securing judicial reform in Poland Premium content

    Brussels holds the key to billions of euros in recovery fund money for a government defiant on the rule of law

  • Saturday, 11 June, 2022
    Europe Express
    The EU grasps the nettle of defence spending

    Political differences among the 27-nation bloc indicate that Nato will remain central to European security

  • Saturday, 4 June, 2022
    Europe Express
    The strange death of the moderate French left Premium content

    Old-style social democracy is in trouble in much of Europe but nowhere more so than in France

  • Saturday, 28 May, 2022
    Europe Express
    Why Erdoğan is picking a fight over Nato enlargement Premium content

    Turkey’s strongman president wants to consolidate power at home and operate an autonomous foreign policy

  • Saturday, 21 May, 2022
    Europe Express
    Ukraine’s long and winding road towards the EU Premium content

    Citizens of the 27-nation bloc broadly support Kyiv’s aspirations but western European governments are less sure

  • Saturday, 14 May, 2022
    Europe Express
    Is religion the new divide between Russia and the west? Premium content

    Sharp differences have arisen between Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Church over the invasion of Ukraine

  • Friday, 13 May, 2022
    Political espionage
    Beware the itch of democracies to spy on domestic critics

    A scandal in Spain is only the latest example of politicians and intelligence agencies getting up to no good

  • Friday, 13 May, 2022
    ReviewFT Books Essay
    When democratic spin conceals a descent into dictatorship

    What separates autocrats from outright dictators? Two books consider the path to power, from Erdoğan’s rise in Turkey to strongmen leaders around the world

  • Saturday, 7 May, 2022
    Europe Express
    Germany scrambles to change its Russia policy

    Ukrainians worry that Berlin’s impulse to ‘understand’ Moscow hasn’t gone away

  • Saturday, 30 April, 2022
    Europe Express
    One step forwards, two steps back for Europe’s hard right Premium content

    Illiberal populists and nativists suffered some setbacks this week but will be around for years to come

  • Saturday, 23 April, 2022
    Europe Express
    Do Russians really support the war?

    Measuring public opinion in a climate of political repression is a hazardous business

  • Thursday, 21 April, 2022
    Markets InsightEurozone inflation
    Inflation rears its head in central and eastern Europe

    Governments need to manage public finances prudently even as central banks raise interest rates

  • Friday, 15 April, 2022
    Global InsightNato
    Finland and Sweden seek the security of Nato’s embrace

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is backfiring by making the alliance’s enlargement in northern Europe more likely

  • Sunday, 10 April, 2022
    Instant InsightFrench presidential election
    Macron faces the fight of his life to win France’s presidential election

    The far-right Marine Le Pen will pose a tougher challenge than she did in the 2017 contest

  • Wednesday, 30 March, 2022
    EU eastern tensions
    Ukraine war is an opportunity for Europe to reform itself

    Fighting corruption and upholding the rule of law will show EU democracy is far better than Putin’s authoritarianism

  • Thursday, 24 February, 2022
    ReviewNon-Fiction
    Five books about Putin, Russia and Ukraine

    Take a closer and in-depth look at the larger issues behind the invasion of Ukraine with these selected titles

  • Thursday, 24 February, 2022
    Markets InsightItalian economy
    Growth, reform and ECB support are crucial to Italian debt sustainability

    Financial markets are understandably twitchy as next year’s parliamentary elections approach

  • Tuesday, 22 February, 2022
    War in Ukraine
    Putin’s distortion of Ukraine’s history lays ground for further operations

    The president’s speech denies Ukrainian past, setting up an opportunity to degrade the independence of Russia’s neighbour

  • Sunday, 20 February, 2022
    Populism
    Strongman rulers hold the upper hand in Hungary and Serbia

    Elections are shaping up as unequal contests in a region shaken by democratic backsliding and security worries

  • Monday, 31 January, 2022
    ReviewHistory books
    Stalin’s Library by Geoffrey Roberts — stacks of power

    This fascinating study of the Soviet dictator’s massive personal reading collection shows how ideas influenced his political thinking

  • Sunday, 30 January, 2022
    Instant InsightItalian politics
    A selfish Italian political class avoids disaster at the last minute

    Mattarella’s reconfirmation as president keeps Draghi in power amid rising fears about next year’s parliamentary elections

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