Global

The establishment of AUKUS, and subsequent submarine dispute, has exposed once more the EU's strategic vulnerability. At present the EU has no common foreign policy and no European armed forces capability, and strategic autonomy remains an illusion. But it is not a wrong goal to pursue, argues Maximiliaan van Lange in this op-ed.

"The EU and the US are unique partners in addressing global challenges. Their closer cooperation, based on shared values, will contribute to international peace and security", an EU statement said after the meeting.

After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director admitted that the agency had “a major communication breakdown” with Iran, a meeting resulted in an interim agreement to store monitoring data. The Iranian nuclear talks are expected to resume but the determination of actors to reach a deal is not yet clear.

China and the US are still talking but it seems the talk is how to make the crisis or crises on the horizon less risky. In the meantime both sides are preparing for the worst. On Wednesday, the process was taken a step further with the launch of the new AUKUS security arrangement, bringing together the US, the UK and Australia.

Throughout the world, people on Saturday are marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, and paying tribute to the 2,977 people who lost their lives. President Biden is set to lead commemorations on Saturday and will visit the three attack sites with the first lady, Jill Biden. There will also be six moments of silence to correspond with the times the two World Trade Center towers were struck and fell, and the moments the Pentagon was attacked and Flight 93 crashed.