iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Agree and disagree. Yes, EU still lacks all of the things mentioned here. BUT the European Defence Projects of Common Interest are a really, really good step for the EU making an important contribution to burden-shifting.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is really important because these first European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs) open the door for more. And it basically gives the EU the possibility to fund these endeavours much more extensively than before. Good news.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is an interesting piece on public-private relations and defence industrial policy, but it leaves a massive elephant in the room unaddressed: it permanently uses the phrase « the US and its allies » - but what if allies don’t want to follow? reader.foreignaffairs.com/2026/09/28/r...

reader.foreignaffairs.com

Rewiring the Arsenal of Democracy

America and Its Allies Must Scale Together for a New Era of War

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Anyone surprised? I also have a hard time imagining that this will be different in December (discussion about G20 participation by Putin).

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Happy Monday… it’s Medal Monday again! Race was tough, views were great.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

All I say here: imagine German Sektgabis, on steroids. Welcome to CH. 🫠

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I complain a lot about Deutsche Bahn, and often for good reasons (you know the stories…). But regularly travelling my train in Switzerland also makes me see DB travellers with other eyes. Expose yourself to Swiss ppl for just two minutes - it’s like German DB travellers on steroids.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is your regular reminder to disconnect on the weekend and do things that are good for you. And don’t forget to have a mooncake for 中秋节/ mid-autumn festival.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is a really good read about LFI's approach towards Ukraine and all the contractions.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Good threat + Chinese MFA statement link.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Oh wow, Switzerland will host the European Political Community meeting in spring 2027. www.admin.ch/de/newnsb/V5...

admin.ch

Das 10. Gipfeltreffen der Europäischen Politischen Gemeinschaft findet in Zürich statt

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

In case you missed it - this is an interesting development to be followed when thinking about the future of US engagement in the Middle East/ Europe's neighbourhood and new partnerships between Europe and Gulf states.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"The foreign ministry noted that efforts to buy American weapons are viewed positively by the Trump administration, but the purchase of European military material should be increased." www.ft.com/content/bec2...

ft.com

Trump’s US no longer a reliable ally, warns Belgium in leaked document

Dynamics in Washington ‘are likely to compromise several vital interests’ of Belgium and the EU, says strategy document from foreign ministry

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Reposted by Gesine Weber

John R. Deni @johnrdeni.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Least surprising headline of the day...

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"Europe’s disadvantage can be summed up in one word: France. (...) America owes too much, no doubt, but Europe owes it in all the wrong places." Touché. www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

economist.com

America has a whopping debt. But Europe has the whopping debt problem

The French-size problem at the heart of the EU

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Official declaration by German MoD after election of Gen. Breuer to Chair of NATO Military Committee: "as a convinced European and Transatlanticist, Gen. Breuer represents a military capable and strong Europe". Or: Zeitenwende in action. www.bmvg.de/de/presse/br...

bmvg.de

General Breuer zum Vorsitzenden des NATO-Militärausschusses gewählt

General Carsten Breuer wird wird 2027 die Nachfolge von Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone antreten

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This result illustrates the significant cleavage between Germany’s cities (with Berlin also being an exception among those) and the countryside/ rural areas.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A possible move: Merz ties the national reforms to his mandate and declares that he will not run again after this. Steps down as head of party, makes space for next generation. But this takes guts and a coalition partner willing to support this.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This is your regular reminder to disconnect on the weekend and do things that are good for you. Photo: not from Zurich, but from the oldest town in Europe. 🇧🇬

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Yes. I see all the good intentions to get closer to Canada, but I really don’t think it was smart - unless it’s the door opener to an entirely new membership model.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Still catching up with SOTEU (no live watching for me this morning), but I’m intrigued to see where this will go. My guess: it’s symbolic - but it is also quite a signal towards states in Europe like Türkiye or Ukraine. Not sure whether this is a wise move.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

And as always, you all should read @sophiepedder.bsky.social on all things France.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Yep, there’s a case to be made in favour of strategic ambiguity - not just in this region.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This is your regular reminder to disconnect on the weekend and do things that are good for you. Always good: being out of Zurich. Shot from Lisbon in early September.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

"One option (...) would transfer Russian accounts held at Euroclear & other EU financial institutions into a separate EU vehicle. The approach would move both the assets & the associated liabilities while providing Belgium & Euroclear with indemnity against legal risks." www.ft.com/content/de71...

ft.com

EU looks for new path to tap Russian assets for Ukraine

European Commission resumes work on finding legally sound ways to access Moscow bank funds as Kyiv spending crunch deepens

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

We could call it "the other transatlantic alliance in the making".

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Was just researching a thing on air policing and got this suggestion - AI lack of precision at its best. Glaring mistakes here: -> article 5 is not "triggered", member states decide to use it -> no response is ever automatic, it is a political decision -> assumptions on leadership 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Big day: The first episode of the Geopolitical Europe podcast is out! In "Debunking European strategic autonomy myths", I talk about four misconceptions about European strategic autonomy - and how to move beyond them. geopoliticaleurope.substack.com/p/episode-1-...

geopoliticaleurope.substack.com

Episode 1: Debunking European strategic autonomy myths

This very first episode of the Geopolitical Europe podcast is all about European strategic autonomy — a term that has been widely used in policy debates over the last decade (or even decades) and has ...

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

What's interesting is also that most voters (as by ARD reports) are more confident that AfD will solve their problems than CDU - and this is the actual problem.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Germany has a problem. As per current numbers, AfD had overwhelming success. I won't go into speculations now, but say so much: this election was not about the region, it was about Berlin and deep dissatisfaction with the current government. (1/2) www.zeit.de/politik/deut...

zeit.de

Demokratie in Sachsen-Anhalt: Der blaue Sturm

Sachsen-Anhalt hat so rechtsextrem gewählt wie nie ein Bundesland zuvor. Jetzt braucht die liberale Demokratie den Schutz der deutschen Mehrheit.

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Reposted by Gesine Weber

Marc Berthold @marcberthold.eurosky.social · 06/09/2026

À 14 heures, le taux de #participation en #SaxeAnhalt était nettement plus élevé que lors de toutes les #élections régionales depuis 2002.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is your regular reminder to disconnect and do things that are good for you. (Shot from Lisbon this week - great location for EISA conference.)

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Yep. And this will also fundamentally change how we think about the EU as global actor if Brussels decides to bite.

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Reposted by Gesine Weber

mathieu gallard @mathieugallard.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🇺🇸🗳️J’ai écrit pour @grandcontinent.bsky.social cette analyse à deux mois des midterms. Entre le décrochage chez les Hispaniques & les indépendants et le scepticisme croissant des républicains modérés, la coalition de Trump en 2024 se délite, sur fond d'inquiétudes économiques et sociales👇

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Good piece. EU should not take Iceland's vote personally - but rather focus on the partners where there is potential for closer cooperation and enlargement. I don't buy the "it's a plunder to EU's attractiveness" narratives because Iceland already has strong ties & benefits from cooperation.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

This is your regular reminder to disconnect on the weekend and do things that are good for you.

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I have not listened to this yet, but will definitely put this on my list!

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Huge if true. What immediately comes to my mind here is what this means for the Franco-German relationship, but also for E3 leadership on European deterrence.

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