BRUSSELS — Access to confidential EU documents by the Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party is raising concerns that sensitive deliberations are being exposed to Moscow, three EU diplomats and four German lawmakers have said. German MPs — including from the far-right AfD — have access to a databank containing thousands of EU files. Those include confidential notes from meetings of ambassadors where the bloc’s diplomats hash out their countries’ positions on geopolitical issues such as plans to fund Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. “The problem is that we have a party, the AfD, of which there are justified suspicions of information leaking to China or Russia,” said Greens lawmaker Anton Hofreiter, chair of the Bundestag’s EU affairs committee. Those suspicions are shaping how sensitive talks are conducted, as diplomats increasingly factor in the risk of exposure. Budapest was accused in media reports over the weekend of passing information about confidential discussions by EU leaders to Moscow, claims Hungary’s foreign minister described as “fake news.” EU countries already meet in smaller groups over concerns that “less-than-loyal” countries leak sensitive information to the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a European government official said. “We’re taking all kinds of precautions in Brussels to protect sensitive meetings and information,” said one senior EU diplomat. But the access that AfD MPs have to the confidential materials “leaves a giant, Putin-shaped hole in our security measures.”  “We’re all careful about sharing sensitive information in a format with 27 EU member states,” another diplomat said. “Whether because of [Hungarian leader Viktor] Orbán or because of the German system … we don’t freely share all information as you would among your closest confidants in a setting with 27 member states around the table. That’s the Hungarian factor, and that’s the AfD factor.” An “ambassador cannot guarantee that any sensitive things he says in Coreper [the EU ambassadors’ format] are not going straight to the Russians or China,” the diplomat continued. The diplomats POLITICO spoke to said they weren’t aware of these concerns being raised in any official capacity — “more at the watercooler,” the same diplomat said, adding there’s lots of chatter about concerns on the sidelines of meetings, particularly among countries in Europe’s northwest. The AfD denies it passes information from the system to Russia or China. “We do not comment on baseless allegations,” a spokesperson for the AfD’s parliamentary group said in response to a request for comment.   A LEAKY SYSTEM Unlike in other national parliaments, all MPs and their aides in Germany’s Bundestag have access to EuDoX, a databank containing thousands of EU files ranging from ministerial summit briefing notes to summaries of confidential meetings among ambassadors. The system was set up as a safeguard against unchecked executive power, a particular concern in Germany given its Nazi past. The documents — around 25,000 per year — are put into the system by a special unit within the Bundestag that gets them from the government. The databank contains “restricted” documents, the lowest classification of confidential information.   “In principle, this [access] is absolutely right and necessary in order to fulfill our task … to monitor the federal government, and since a great deal of this takes place at the EU level, it is, as I said, necessary,” the Greens’ Hofreiter said. Experts also noted that the government is well aware that a large number of people have access to the system and that this creates the possibility of leaks.   “Considering that EuDoX is a relatively open platform with 5,000 authorized users, there is nothing particularly sensitive in it. The federal government knows exactly what it is feeding into it,” said law professor Sven Hölscheidt from the Free University Berlin, who has studied the databank. But seven German lawmakers or their aides who use the databank told POLITICO the AfD’s access is a security risk. “The AfD’s apparent closeness to Putin, the contacts between numerous AfD lawmakers and the Russian embassy, their trips to Moscow, their adoption of Russian propaganda narratives, and their deliberate attempts to obtain security-related information through parliamentary inquiries are causing sleepless nights for all those who care deeply about the country’s security,” said Roland Theis, a senior lawmaker for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in the Bundestag’s EU affairs committee. Centrist lawmakers have said AfD politicians expose information that could be of interest to Russian intelligence. That includes government information on local drone defenses, Western arms transports to Ukraine, and authorities’ knowledge of Russian sabotage and hybrid activities in the Baltic Sea region. Late last year, the party’s lawmakers were widely accused of using their right to submit parliamentary questions to gather information for the Kremlin, claims the party’s leadership rejected. Earlier in 2025, a former aide to MEP Maximilian Krah was convicted of spying for China. “In general, we view the AfD’s handling of sensitive information with great concern,” said Johannes Schraps, a senior SPD lawmaker in the Bundestag’s EU affairs committee, adding that this concern “stems from a broader pattern.” The Bundestag administration took some steps toward securing information last year, Schraps said, including denying some AfD staff members access to buildings and parliamentary IT systems. Chris Lunday and Max Griera contributed reporting.

KYIV — The Russian army sustained over 6,000 casualties in the last four days as it attempted a renewed offensive that was beaten back by the Ukrainian military. “The enemy tried to break through the defensive formations of our troops in several strategic directions at once … In total, the enemy conducted 619 assault actions during these four days,” Ukrainian Army Commander Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement on Monday, describing the Russian operations as “a colossal pressure.” Syrskyi said the Russian command threw tens of thousands of soldiers into the “meat assaults.” While Ukrainian open source analysts at the Deep State live map project reported the Kremlin’s army managed to advance in several small villages, it came at a catastrophic cost. “Over four days of intensive assault operations, the enemy lost more than 6,090 soldiers killed and wounded,” Syrskyi said, adding that Kyiv largely managed to repel the offensive. The number of Russians killed or wounded was also reported Monday by the Ukrainian army command. The Russian ministry of defense reported targeting Ukrainian troops in more than 147 fighting districts in the Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions over the past few days, but did not reveal the number of Ukrainian or Russian losses, or any significant advances. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian troops have noticeably become more active, taking advantage of the better weather, and that there have been more attacks. “But this also means more Russian losses. In this week alone, more than 8,000 have been killed and seriously wounded. They also had mechanized assaults. Our drones are working well, and the positions of our army are strong,” Zelenskyy said in an evening statement to the nation on Sunday. The Institute for the Study of War think tank confirmed that so far, the Ukrainian military is forcing Russian forces to choose between defending against Ukrainian counterattacks and allocating manpower and equipment for offensive operations elsewhere on the front line. “Russia’s redeployments to southern Ukraine in response to Ukrainian counterattacks are likely disrupting the Russian military command’s plans for the Spring-Summer 2026 offensive against the (Donetsk) Fortress Belt,” ISW said in its latest war assessment, referring to Ukraine’s fortified cities in the east of the country. “Russian forces have previously failed to conduct simultaneous offensives in different sectors of the front, and it is unlikely that they will be able to make significant efforts to advance in the Fortress Belt area while contending with Ukraine’s recent successes in the Hulyaipole and Oleksandrivka directions,” it added.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission wants Budapest to explain explosive allegations that the Hungarian foreign minister shared information from confidential talks with other EU member countries with Moscow. The reports are “greatly concerning” as trust between member countries and the bloc’s institutions is fundamental to the EU’s functioning, Commission foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper said Monday. The Commission is waiting for “clarifications” from the Hungarian government, she added. A report over the weekend by the Washington Post claimed Budapest maintained close contacts with the Kremlin throughout the war in Ukraine and that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó even used breaks during meetings with other EU countries to update his Russian counterpart.  Szijjártó has denied the report. Hungary’s Europe Minister János Bóka told POLITICO: “It is fake news that is now being spread as a desperate reaction to [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s] Fidesz gaining momentum in the election campaign. But the Hungarian people won’t be deceived.” Hungarians head to the polls for a crunch election on April 12. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has not yet commented on the claims. Asked whether von der Leyen was aware, Commission’s Deputy Chief Spokesperson Arianna Podestà said: “The president is in Australia, so I’m not sure she’s seen reports yet.” Von der Leyen is visiting Australia to shore up a long-awaited trade deal. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the allegations “shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.”  “We’ve had our suspicions about that for a long time,” he wrote on X on Sunday. “That’s one reason why I take the floor only when strictly necessary and say just as much as necessary.”  Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who frequently attended Council meetings where Szijjártó was present, told POLITICO he was warned as early as 2024 that the Hungarian side could be passing on information to the Kremlin.  Suspicion of leaks has driven the proliferation of other talking formats that exclude Budapest, five European officials and diplomats told POLITICO. “This has been a given for a while,” said a sixth official, who, like the others, was afforded anonymity to discuss the sensitive claims.   Nicholas Vinocur, Gabriel Gavin and Gerardo Fortuna contributed to this story.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack Donald Tusk’s accusation that Hungary may have leaked sensitive European Council discussions to Moscow — and what that means for trust, decision-making and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s position in Brussels. Plus: Europe’s balancing act as Donald Trump turns up the pressure over Iran — and a breakdown of the weekend’s voting in France and Germany. Questions? Comments? Send them to our WhatsApp: +32 491 05 06 29. 

HOW TWO WARS ARE PULLING EUROPE AND THE US APART The EU is worried President Trump could abandon Ukraine if the bloc doesn’t support him in the Middle East. By NICHOLAS VINOCUR in Brussels Illustration by Natália Delgado/ POLITICO  The biggest fear of European leaders is that Donald Trump’s war in Iran will lead him to abandon Ukraine. Governments are terrified that the U.S. president could retaliate against America’s European allies for spurning his appeals for assistance in the Middle East, primarily by cutting off what’s left of U.S. help for Kyiv, according to four EU diplomats with knowledge of their discussions. As they scramble to avoid a permanent break in the transatlantic relationship, leaders hope their offer of limited support for his action against Tehran will suffice to convince Trump to stay the course in the conflict with Russia. The war in Iran “must not divert our attention from the support we give Ukraine,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the end of last week’s EU summit in Brussels. It’s easy to see why EU leaders are so anxious. In recent days Trump has repeatedly blasted them for failing to do more to help him unblock the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping route used by about 20 percent of the world’s oil that has effectively been closed by Iran. He has also explicitly linked continued U.S. involvement in NATO to the Middle East conflict. “NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” he railed in a Truth Social Post over the weekend. “They complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz … COWARDS,” he concluded. “[W]e will remember.” At the same time, further deepening fears about the transatlantic alliance, Moscow offered Washington a quid pro quo under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence with Iran if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia, POLITICO revealed on Friday. While the U.S. declined the offer, according to two people familiar with the U.S.-Russia negotiations, the fact it was proffered in the first place points to a possible tradeoff between U.S. involvement in Ukraine and the Middle East. “There’s a crack right now emerging between, you know, Europe and the U.S., which, again, as an avid pro-American and transatlanticist, I lament,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. “But it’s a reality that I have to live with. And I obviously try to salvage what I can.” MISSILES LIKE CANDIES Governments are concerned that the war in Iran is using up missiles and air defense munitions that Kyiv needs to protect itself against Russia, the four EU diplomats, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic exchanges, told POLITICO. “When you see what Trump did on Greenland, how he cut off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine on a whim, there’s always a risk [that Trump could remove U.S. support for Ukraine],” one of the diplomats said. “The concern is obviously that the Middle East is taking attention away from Ukraine,” added a second diplomat from a mid-sized EU country. “The Emiratis are shooting out Patriot [air defense missiles] like candies, whereas Ukraine desperately needs them. It can’t become an either-or situation” in which the U.S. only has enough bandwidth for one conflict and abandons Ukraine, the diplomat added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been explicit about the risk of such a tradeoff, telling the BBC on Thursday that he had a “very bad feeling” about the impact of the Middle East war on Ukraine. He lamented the fact that as the war goes on, U.S.-led peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are being “constantly postponed” in what the Kremlin calls a “situational pause.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pictured at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain on March 18, 2026. | Alberto Gardin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Ukrainian negotiators traveled over the weekend to the U.S. for talks with Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The latter praised the talks as “constructive” in a post on X, but gave no hint of when negotiations with Russia would resume. DAMAGE CONTROL European leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, are ramping up efforts to show they support the U.S. president’s goal of freeing up the Strait of Hormuz. In a now familiar role, Rutte has been outspoken in praising Trump’s efforts. The former Dutch prime minister last week called the destruction of Iran’s military capacity by the U.S. and Israel “very important,” linking it to “European security” at a time when some EU leaders, like Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, have criticized the war as “illegal.” Macron has been more circumspect in public, but active behind the scenes. In two separate calls with Trump before last Thursday’s gathering of EU leaders, the French president assured his U.S. counterpart that France would help clear the Strait when conditions allow, according to comments from Trump himself and a third EU diplomat who was briefed on the calls. “This is about managing the man,” the diplomat said. In the early hours of Friday, Macron — who has otherwise pledged to send a naval detachment to the Strait of Hormuz after the hot phase of the war dies down — said France was pursuing the aim of freeing it up via the United Nations. In response to a question from POLITICO at the European Council on Thursday, the French leader said Paris intends to “sound out its main partners” about tabling a resolution in the Security Council on securing freedom of navigation in the vital waterway. Trump is no fan of the United Nations, but he could see an advantage to a U.N. Security Council resolution that forms the basis for a broader coalition to free up the Strait, a fourth EU diplomat said. The southern suburbs of Beirut after an Israeli airstrike on March 10, 2026. | Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images The U.K.’s Starmer is also doing more to help Trump in the Middle East. Following reports that Iran had fired a ballistic missile at the Diego Garcia U.S.-U.K. base in the Indian Ocean, Starmer gave the U.S. a green light to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz. Previously he had only granted permission for the bases to be used for defensive strikes. Starmer was also the main organizer of a statement signed by seven EU and allied countries (the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan) in which they expressed their “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.” Asked about the intent of this statement, which doesn’t promise any immediate material help, the third diplomat said: “It’s part of the same effort. We need to show Trump we are active in the Middle East. It’s in our interests, but also in Ukraine’s.” Such pledges remain vague for now. Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have both asserted they have no intention of being drawn into the war in Iran. But as far as Trump is concerned, “appearances matter — sometimes more than substance,” said the same diplomat.

Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, is a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center and host of the weekly podcast “World Review with Ivo Daalder.” He writes POLITICO’s From Across the Pond column. Like many, I used to believe that former U.S. President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was the biggest strategic mistake America had made, at least since the Vietnam War. That is, until now. U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel in a war against Iran is a far bigger strategic error, and one with far bigger strategic consequences. The reasons for this are many, ranging from the immediate impact on the region and the global economy to the longer-term upshots for Russia and China, as well as the repercussions for U.S. alliances and America’s global standing. That much is already clear — and we’re only three weeks in. Let’s start with the similarities: Much like the Iraq War, the war against Iran began based on the presumption that the regime in power would swiftly fall and that a new, more moderate and less antagonistic one would take its place. In both instances, the idea was to remove the greatest destabilizing threat in the Middle East — Saddam Hussein’s regime in the initial case, the theocratic dictatorship in Tehran in the latter — through the swift and decisive use of military force. But while Bush understood that defeating a regime required ground forces, it seems Trump simply hoped that airpower alone would suffice. As a result, Hussein’s regime fell swiftly — though Bush did vastly underestimate what would be required to rebuild a stable, let alone a democratic, Iraq in its place. But the Iranian government, as U.S. intelligence officials themselves have testified, “appears to be intact” despite Israel killing many of its key political and security leaders through targeted strikes. Focusing on the region at large, Bush’s misjudgment eventually contributed to a large-scale insurgency, which strengthened Iran’s influence in Iraq and the wider Middle East. In contrast, Trump’s miscalculation has left in place a regime that, aside from assuring its own survival, is now singularly focused on inflicting as much damage on the U.S. and its allies as it possibly can. Iranian drones and missiles have already attacked Israel and the Gulf states, targeted critical energy production facilities and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which hosts one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas export transits. The Salalah oil storage fire in Oman is pictured on March 13, 2026. | Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 Less than a month in, the world is now witnessing the largest oil and gas disruption in history. And as the fighting escalates to include gas and oil production infrastructure, the global economic consequences will be felt by every single country for months, if not years, to come — even if the conflict were to end soon. The damage that has already been inflicted on the global economy is far greater than the economic consequences of the Iraq War in its entirety. But that’s not all. Geopolitically, the U.S.-Israel war with Iran will also have far greater reverberations than the war in Iraq ever did. For one, the Bush administration spent a lot of time and effort trying to get allies on board to participate in and support the war. It didn’t fully succeed in this, as key allies like Germany and France continued opposing the war. But it tried. Trump, by contrast, didn’t even try to get America’s most important allies on board. Not only that, he even failed to inform them of his decision. And yet, when Iran responded predictably by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. president then demanded allies send their navies to escort tankers — despite the U.S. Navy so far refusing to do so. And while it’s true that Iraq left many U.S. allies — even those that joined the war, like the U.K. — deeply scarred, Iran has convinced U.S. allies they can no longer rely on the U.S., and that Washington is now a real threat to their economic security. That, too, will have a lasting impact well beyond anything the war in Iraq did. Finally, the fact remains that when Bush decided to invade Iraq, Russia and China were still minor global powers. Russian President Vladimir Putin was only just starting his effort to stabilize the economy and rebuild Russia’s military power, while China had just joined the World Trade Organization and was still a decade or more away from becoming an economic superpower. In other words, America’s blunder in Iraq occurred at a time when the strategic consequences for the global balance of power were still manageable. Trump’s Iran debacle is occurring at a time when China is effectively competing with the U.S. for global power and influence, and Russia is engaged in the largest military action in Europe since the end of World War II. A woman sifts through the rubble in her house in Tehran, Iran on March 15, 2026 after it was damaged by missile attacks two days before. | Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Both stand to benefit greatly. Russia is the short-term winner here. Oil prices are rising, generating more than $150 million per day in extra income for Moscow to feed its war machine. The U.S. is relaxing its sanctions against Russia in a vain attempt to stall prices from ballooning at the pump. All the while, Ukraine is being left to contend with Russia’s missile and drone attacks without the advanced defensive weaponry that’s now being used to protect Israel and the Gulf instead. China, meanwhile, is watching as the U.S. diverts its military forces from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, where they will likely remain for months, if not years. These forces include a carrier strike group, a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system from Korea, and a Marine Expeditionary Force from Japan. And while a disruption in oil and gas supply will be a short-term problem for Beijing too, China’s rapid transition to renewables and close alignment with energy-rich Russia will leave it well placed to confidently confront the future. Bush and Trump both came to office determined to avoid the mistaken wars of their predecessors. Nevertheless, they both embarked on military adventures fed by a hubristic belief in American power. But while the U.S. was strong enough — and its adversaries still weak enough — to recoup much of the damage inflicted by Bush’s war, the war unfolding in Iran today will leave behind an America that will have lost much of its global power, standing and influence, destined to confront rising adversaries all on its own.

BRUSSELS — The EU is limiting the flow of confidential material to Hungary and leaders are meeting in smaller groups — as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of long-standing suspicions Viktor Orbán’s government is sharing information with Russia. But there will not be any formal EU response to a fresh set of allegations because of the possible impact on the Hungarian election on April 12, according to five European diplomats and officials who told POLITICO they were concerned about the risk of Budapest leaking sensitive information to the Kremlin. “The news that Orbán’s people inform Moscow about EU Council meetings in every detail shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has backed Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar in the election, wrote on X on Sunday. “We’ve had our suspicions about that for a long time. That’s one reason why I take the floor only when strictly necessary and say just as much as necessary.” In a report on Saturday the Washington Post said that Orbán’s government maintained close contacts with Moscow throughout the war in Ukraine, and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó used breaks during meetings with other member countries to update his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Worries about Hungary sending information directly to Moscow were behind the rise of breakout formats with like-minded leaders, instead of holding meetings with all 27 EU members, said one of the European government officials, who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive matters. “Overall the less-than-loyal member states are the main reason why most of relevant European diplomacy is now happening in different smaller formats — E3, E4, E7, E8, Weimar, NB8, JEF, etc,” the official said.  The numerals refer to the number of European leaders in the group. The Weimar alliance comprises France, Germany and Poland. NB8 is the eight countries in the Nordics and Baltics. JEF is the Joint Expeditionary Force of 10 northern European nations. ‘FAKE NEWS’ Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who frequently attended Council meetings where Szijjártó was present, told POLITICO he was warned as early as 2024 that the Hungarian side could be passing on information to Russia, and that he and his counterparts had limited the information they shared when he was present. Even ahead of a critical NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, envoys moved to cut Budapest’s delegation out of sensitive talks, Landsbergis said. “We would only speak in formal terms, later breaking out to speak without Hungary about the achievables of the summit,” he said.  The Bucharest Group of Nine, a club of countries on the military alliance’s Eastern Flank, reportedly contemplated kicking Budapest out of the format the following year over failures to agree on support for Ukraine. Hungary’s Europe Minister János Bóka told POLITICO the reports over the weekend were “fake news” designed as “a desperate reaction to [Orban’s party] Fidesz gaining momentum in the election campaign. But the Hungarian people won’t be deceived.” János Bóka, Hungary’s EU affairs minister, is pictured at a General Affairs Council in Brussels, Belgium on Jan. 28, 2025. | Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images For his part, Szijjártó rejected the content of the Washington Post article and accused the media of putting forward “conspiracy theories that are more preposterous than anything seen before.” More information could be held back in light of the fresh allegations, one of the diplomats said.  “There is an argument to be made for classification of info and documents on the EU side,” the diplomat said. While using the classified designation “isn’t a silver bullet,” it could “serve as a deterrent against leaks and the passing of sensitive info to third parties. It would also make investigations more automatic.” NO SURPRISES The five diplomats said they were unsurprised by the news, but that any formal response would depend on whether Orbán is re-elected in April. Despite lagging behind Magyar’s Tisza in the polls, the Hungarian prime minister told POLITICO on Friday he could “certainly” secure another term. “It undermines trust, cooperation, and the integrity of the European Union,” said a second diplomat of the allegations. “It’s a deplorable situation. If he stays after [the] election, I think the EU need to find ways to deal with this in another manner.” Another cautioned that whatever the EU and its leaders do, Orbán will use it in his favor in the campaign. “I don’t think anybody is eager to do anything that would add oil to fire before April 12,” they said. Despite widespread agreement on the threat posed by Russia, a fourth diplomat pointed out that the content of discussions among leaders and foreign ministers are routinely reported in the press and frequently take place in an unrestricted format, meaning leaders don’t leave their phones outside to minimize the risk of surveillance. But the optics of an EU government working so closely with a hostile state remains politically explosive. “The fact that the Hungarian foreign minister, a close friend of [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov, has been reporting to the Russians practically minute by minute from every EU meeting is outright treason,” Magyar said at a campaign rally over the weekend. “This man has not only betrayed his own country, but Europe as well.” The allegations come as Orbán’s foreign supporters set course for Budapest to help him campaign in the final stretch of the elections. Polish President Karol Nawrocki — a political rival of Tusk’s — will attend events on Monday, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance will jet in ahead of the vote next month.  Orbán refused to sign off on €90 billion in much-needed loans for Ukraine at Friday’s European Council, sparking a furious reaction from fellow leaders. “It wouldn’t be surprising if this proves true,” said a fifth EU diplomat of the allegations. “Hungary has long been [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ally within the EU and continues to sabotage European security. The blocked €90 billion is simply the latest example of that pattern.”

YOKOSUKA, Japan — Germany is seeking to deepen defense ties with Japan, with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposing a new agreement to make it easier for troops from both countries to operate on each other’s territory. Speaking at Japan’s Yokosuka naval base after talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi on Sunday, Pistorius said Berlin had floated a so-called Reciprocal Access Agreement — a framework designed to “ease the exchange of soldiers in each other’s countries and significantly reduce bureaucratic hurdles.” Such agreements allow partner countries to deploy troops on each other’s soil more easily for training, exercises or operations by streamlining legal and administrative procedures. Japan has signed similar deals with countries like the United Kingdom and Australia as it deepens its own security ties amid rising regional tensions. The proposal marks a step beyond Germany’s recent Indo-Pacific engagements, which have largely focused on joint exercises and short-term deployments. It signals a shift toward more structured military cooperation with Berlin’s partners in the region. Pistorius framed the move as part of a broader response to growing global instability. “How close our partnership is has become clear in light of the current developments in Iran and the Middle East,” he said, pointing to Japan’s heavy reliance on energy imports through the Strait of Hormuz. “The freedom of sea routes must be guaranteed and protected.” Germany and Japan share an interest in securing global trade routes, he added, stressing that both countries remain committed to the rules-based international order. “We are united by the conviction that the strength of the law must prevail,” Pistorius said. The initiative also reflects a broader strategic shift in Berlin and Tokyo. As both governments face rising pressure from authoritarian powers — from Russia’s war in Ukraine to China and North Korea in East Asia — they are increasingly treating their security challenges as interconnected, translating those shared concerns into closer bilateral defense cooperation.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music In dieser Sonderfolge spricht Gordon Repinski mit zwei Experten, die sich regelmäßig mit unsichtbaren, hybriden Angriffen beschäftigen: Sinan Selen, Präsident des Bundesverfassungsschutzes, und Marika Linntam, Botschafterin Estlands in Deutschland. Zusammen haben sie auf der Sicherheitstagung des Bundesverfassungsschutzes und des „Verbandes für Sicherheit in der Wirtschaft“ besprochen, wie Russland mit Nadelstichen versucht, die deutsche Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft zu destabilisieren. Während Estland durch jahrelange Erfahrung eine breite gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Resilienz gegen Desinformation und Sabotage entwickelt hat, warnt Sinan Selen vor einem erheblichen Nachholbedarf in deutschen Unternehmen und der breiten Öffentlichkeit. Im Gespräch geht es deswegen auch darum, wie die Sensibilität gesteigert werden kann, ohne dabei paranoid zu werden. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. ⁠Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren.⁠ Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: ⁠@gordon.repinski⁠ | X: ⁠@GordonRepinski⁠. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 ⁠information@axelspringer.de⁠ Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

BERLIN — German Defense Minister Boris Pistorus will spend next week touring the Indo-Pacific with a passel of corporate chiefs in tow to make deals across the region. It’s part of an effort to mark a greater impact in an area where Berlin’s presence has been minor, but whose importance is growing as Germany looks to build up access to natural resources, technology and allies in a fracturing world. “If you look at the Indo-Pacific, Germany is essentially starting from scratch,” said Bastian Ernst, a defense lawmaker from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats. “We don’t have an established role yet, we’re only just beginning to figure out what that should be.” Pistorius leaves Friday on an eight-day tour to Japan, Singapore and Australia where he’ll be aiming to build relations with other like-minded middle powers — mirroring countries from France to Canada as they scramble to figure out new relationships in a world destabilized by Russia, China and a United States led by Donald Trump. “Germany recognizes this principle of interconnected theaters,” said Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp, visiting fellow of the Asia Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Berlin, she said, “increasingly sees Europe’s focus on Russia and Asia’s focus on China and North Korea as security issues that are linked.” The military and defense emphasis of next week’s trip marks a departure from Berlin’s 2020 Indo-Pacific guidelines, which laid a much heavier focus on trade and diplomacy. Pistorius’ outreach will be especially important as Germany rapidly ramps up military spending at home. Berlin is on track to boost its defense budget to around €150 billion a year by the end of the decade and is preparing tens of billions in new procurement contracts. But not everything Germany needs can be sourced in Europe. Australia is one of the few alternatives to China in critical minerals essential to the defense industry. It’s a leading supplier of lithium and one of the only significant producers of separated rare earth materials outside China. Australia also looms over a key German defense contract. Berlin is considering whether to stick with a naval laser weapon being developed by homegrown firms Rheinmetall and MBDA, or team up with Australia’s EOS instead. That has become a more sensitive political question in Berlin. WELT, owned by POLITICO’s parent company Axel Springer, reported that lawmakers had stopped the planned contract for the German option, reflecting wider concern over whether Berlin should back a domestic system or move faster with a foreign one. That means what Pistorius sees in Australia could end up shaping a decision back in Germany. TALKING TO TOKYO Japan offers something different — not raw materials but military integration, logistics and technology.  Pohlkamp said the military side of the relationship with Japan is now “very much about interoperability and compatibility, built through joint exercises, mutual visits, closer staff work, expanded information exchange and mutual learning.” She described Japan as “a kind of yardstick for Germany,” a country that lives with “an enormous threat perception” not only militarily but also economically, because it is surrounded by pressure from China, North Korea and Russia.  The Japan-Germany Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement took effect in July 2024, giving the two militaries a framework for reciprocal supplies and services and making future port calls for naval vessels, exercises and recurring cooperation easier to sustain.  Pohlkamp said what matters most to Tokyo are not headline-grabbing deployments but “plannable, recurring contributions, which are more valuable than big, one-off shows of force.” But that ambition only goes so far if Germany’s presence remains sporadic. Bundeswehr recruits march on the market square to take their ceremonial oath in Altenburg on March 19, 2026. | Bodo Schackow/picture alliance via Getty Images Berlin has sent military assets to the region for training exercises in recent years — a frigate in 2021, combat aircraft in 2022, army participation in 2023, and a larger naval mission in 2024. But as pressure grows on Germany to beef up its military to hold off Russia, along with its growing presence in Lithuania and its effort to keep supplying Ukraine with weapons, the attention given to Asia is shrinking. The government told parliament last year it sent no frigate in 2025, plans none in 2026 and has not yet decided on 2027. Germany’s current military engagement in the Indo-Pacific consists of a single P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, sent to India in February as part of the Indo-Pacific Deployment 2026 exercises.  Germany, according to Ernst, is still “relatively blank” in the region. What it can contribute militarily remains narrow: “A bit of maritime patrol, a frigate, mine clearance.” Pohlkamp said Germany’s role in Asia is still being built “in small doses” and is largely symbolic. But what matters is whether Berlin can turn occasional visits and deployments into something steadier and more predictable. The defense ministry insists that is the point of Pistorius’s trip. Ministry spokesperson Mitko Müller said Wednesday that Europe and the Indo-Pacific are “inseparably linked,” citing the rules-based order, sea lanes, international law and the role of the two regions in global supply and value chains.  The new P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft stands in front of a technical hangar at Nordholz airbase on Nov. 20, 2025. | Christian Butt/picture alliance via Getty Images The trip is meant to focus on the regional security situation, expanding strategic dialogue, current and possible military cooperation, joint exercises including future Indo-Pacific deployments, and industrial cooperation. That explains why industry is traveling with Pistorius.  Müller said executives from Airbus, TKMS, MBDA, Quantum Systems, Diehl and Rohde & Schwarz are coming along, suggesting Berlin sees the trip as a chance to widen defense ties on the ground. But any larger German role in Asia would have to careful calibrated to avoid angering China — a key trading partner that is very wary of European powers expanding their regional presence. “That leaves Germany trying to do two things at once,” Pohlkamp said. “First, show up often enough to matter, but not so forcefully that it gets dragged into a confrontation it is neither politically nor militarily prepared to sustain.”