Furthermore, 2027 will be a trying year for alliance unity with critical elections in the EU’s two most powerful member states: France’s presidential election and a run of German state elections, including North Rhine-Westphalia. With the Kremlin actively backing the AfD in Germany and the National Rally in France, and amplifying the French far left, there are considerable numbers of voters who risk turning to the political extremes in a time of sustained domestic and international upheaval. President Trump was largely castigated by speakers such as Russian opposition figure and chess master Garry Kasparov, who argued that Trump acts as if he were a Russian asset, and the Russian diesel deal received widespread criticism as well from EU politicians and figures like Vladimir Kara-Murza. However, there was also a strong feeling at Warsaw that heading into next year, the ball is largely in Europe’s court in terms of the degree of unity it can display and the support it can provide to Ukraine. This is the natural consequence of a desire for a more ‘European NATO’ in an age of multipolarity, carrying an increased share of the burden and developing the tools and the systems to act autonomously.
Perhaps most noticeable, though, was the urgent call from speakers ranging from former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace to vice president of the Free Russia Foundation Vladimir Kara-Murza, for Europe to be bold and not afraid to do what is right. This includes dramatically expanding sanctions against Putin, his inner circle, and Russian banks, as well as recovering Russian frozen assets to help support Ukraine. According to David O’Sullivan, the EU’s Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions, this remains a contentious issue within the bloc, historically from Hungary but also crucially from Belgium, where most of Russia’s immobilised central bank assets are held.
