In the last issue of the semester, we go back to take a look at what the EU has been up to. Washington moves against Mexico and threatens NATO at the same time. A new airport is under construction in Ethiopia, while the Egyptian army exercises near Israel. In Romania, the Government is in crisis.
Spotlight: Industrial Autonomy back at the Center of the EU
By the Head of the Monday Briefing Pietro Ferrari.
In early March 2026, the European Commission proposed a law to the Parliament and Council in order to revamp the continent’s manufacturing sector and limit foreign investment in strategic sector. Although not particularly famous (there is not even a Wikipedia page about it) the proposal is set to be extremely consequential and to create some friction with other manufacturing powerhouses. Indeed, this week, China has voices it first complains, threatening “countermeasures.”
The Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA), introduced by Ursula Von Der Leyen Commission on the 4th of March, aims at helping the widely struggling European manufacturing sector. From the automotive industry to the aluminum and steel producers, the EU producers have been badly hurt by the last years of high energy prices and economic hardships. In Germany, traditionally among the most industrialized countries in Europe, between 2020 and 2026 more than 600.000 manufacturing jobs have been lost, the 8% of the total. Such jobs losses can be seen in most European countries, with Italy that follows a very similar and dangerous trend. The influx of cheap Chinese goods, and especially in the Automotive sector, has been described as a major cause for this phenomenon.
The IAA plans to tackle the enormous industrial crisis that has been unfolding in Europe in two main ways. First, the law will restrict Foreign Investment in sectors deemed strategic by the commission, by limiting ownership at 49%, forcing companies into joint EU partnerships, and mandating 50% of the employes to be based in EU countries. Such restrictions will apply to the battery production sector, to solar photovoltaic technology and to electric/hybrid vehicles. Second, the IAA will mandate an EU-origin and a low-carbon preference in public procurement throughout the Common Market. This rule will disqualify most of the extra-EU competitors, most importantly Chinese corporations.
Public procurement in the EU accounts for 14% of all economic activities, making these restrictions extremely costly for the excluded countries. Chinese officials in Bruxelles have voiced their complaints, warning that if the law were to come into force as it is, Beijing would certainly enact countermeasures. It is worth noting that China already implements similar regulations to foreign investment and procurement in its own domestic market. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is set to visit Bruxelles in early summer, and most certainly this legislation will be part of his discussion in the EU Capital.
The European Union is trying to move its first steps of industrial strategic autonomy with the IAA. The law will now go through months of long and complex discussions between the EU Council and Parliament, making the road to enaction far from easy. Yet, the first results have been already seen in Bruxelles: if China is unhappy with the EU industrial policy, “It means we are doing exactly what we need to do.” I hope this economically and legally complex subject did not scare any reader away, but I couldn’t end the year without a sprinkle of Europeanist hope from the bottom of my blue (and black) heart.
World News
United States Indicts Mexican Governor in Drug Corruption Scandal
By Diego de Carvalho
On Wednesday, April 29th, American authorities accused Rubén Rocha Moya, governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, of protecting the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico’s largest drug trafficking organisation. Specifically, the charges accuse Rocha Moya of accepting bribes and electoral manipulation in exchange for sheltering cartel members from authorities, as well as leaking classified information to the group.
Rocha Moya is a member of the centre-left party Morena, which leads Mexico’s governing coalition under President Claudia Sheinbaum. Sheinbaum and other party officials came in defence of Rocha Moya over the week, citing a lack of conclusive evidence against him.
Under Sheinbaum, the Mexican government has taken a bellicose position against criminal organisations in the country. Violence notably flared in February, when the death of a drug lord led to a wave of violence in the Mexican state of Jalisco. However, the Mexican government has still faced pressure from the United States to further reduce criminality in the country, as part of the Trump Administrations rhetoric against alleged “narcoterrorism” in Latin America.
This is yet another case showing the profound influence of criminal organizations on Mexican politics, a relationship which has impregnated the country’s political and electoral systems for decades. As the Sheinbaum administration exerts pressure on criminal organization, it is necessary to go beyond sheer repression and punitivism by tackling also the political connections of the country’s cartels. In any case, Mexico’s drug war will face larger scrutiny over the next few months, as the country will gain international attention from co-hosting the FIFA World Cup.
The U.S. announces withdrawal of troops from Germany: is NATO under threat?
By Alice Di Terlizzi
On Friday, May 1st, 2026, the U.S. administration declared the intention to withdraw its troops, roughly 5,000 in number, from their German basis. While acknowledging the mutually established interest in owning U.S. military assets on the European territory, as stated by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, still the announcement “underscored the need for European members to invest more in their own defence”. Indeed, U.S. interests seem to be at times colliding with the core alliance relationships as inscribed within the NATO transatlantic partnership. The U.S. commitment to the latter may be exhibiting an index of volatility that now steers towards the need to foster European self-reliance, especially in terms of defence spending. The Pentagon explained on Saturday, the day immediately succeeding the announcement, that such a declaration followed the U.S. DoD’s understanding of its own force posture in Europe and conditions on the ground.
The proposed withdrawal, to be carried out over a six-to-twelve months’ time span, comes across as representing a reversed course of military action versus the buildup constituted under the Biden Presidency, which had been mandated following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. announcement carries the influence of German Chancellor F. Merz’s stance on the war in Iran, as he believes the U.S. is being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership in the ongoing conflict. As current U.S. President is thinking of targeting Spain and Italy with U.S. troops’ withdrawal, the international framing of such declarations lies in the need for European allies to boost their defence spending. Key steps ahead are being undertaken by Germany itself, since Chancellor Merz projects to expand German defence spending to more than three percent of GDP by next year, well beyond NATO’s two percent benchmark.
Ethiopia begins construction of Africa’s biggest airport
By Veronika Lizier-Zmudzinski
Ethiopia is building what will become Africa’s largest airport. This project will invest $12.5 billion in Bishoftu, a town about 45 kilometres from Addis Ababa.
Developed by Ethiopian Airlines, the airport is a fundamental step in the country’s ambition to become a global aviation hub that can efficiently link Africa with Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Once completed, it is expected to handle up to 100 million passengers annually, which is much greater than the capacity of Addis Ababa’s current international airport. The project will include multiple runways, large terminals, and expanded cargo facilities, supporting not only passenger travel but also freight transport. Completion is planned around 2030.
Beyond Ethiopia, the airport could have major implications for Africa’s economy. Improved air connectivity would make it easier and cheaper to move goods and people across the continent. This could in turn help boost trade, tourism, and investment. African businesses could gain faster access to global markets, especially for exports, such as fresh produce, that are time sensitive. The airport may also reduce reliance on non-African hubs, keeping more economic activity within the continent. If successful, this project could strengthen regional integration, and the continent may more easily be able to position itself as a more competitive player in global commerce.
Military exercises in Egypt near Israeli border
By Riccardo De Ambroggi
Last week, Egypt’s Minister of Defence, Ashraf Salem Zaher, officially started the “Badr 2026 tactical manoeuvres”, a set of live-fire military exercises in the Sinai region, near the border with Israel.
The operation included the deployment of army units, special forces, fighter jets, and tanks to instruct and train the military personnel in case of war.
In a critical moment of the area, the Egyptian government wanted to send a clear message to their homologues in Israel and to all the actors involved in the occurring conflict. The signal sent, as declared by Minister Zaher, is: “a message of reassurance about the military constant readiness of the Egyptian Defence forces. Some sources reports the presence of instructors from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army intelligence. The escalation in Middle East is increasingly worrying for African governments, especially the ones that can be directly affected and with a sufficiently satisfying internal situation, that reply to violence showing muscles. African nations won’t be just puppets of great powers or battlefields, but an important strategic asset and through the exercitation Egypt strongly affirm this position.
European News
Romania’s Far Right Eyes Power Amid Government Crisis
By Teodora Stefan
Romania is facing one of its most serious political crises in years, as a fragile coalition government teeters on the edge of collapse and the country’s far-right gains an alarming foothold in mainstream politics.
On April 23, six ministers from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) resigned from the government, effectively collapsing the grand coalition of four mainstream parties that had been in power since June 2025. The coalition had been built with a specific purpose: it was formed to contain the rise of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), following the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the first round of the 2024 presidential election amid evidence of Russian-linked interference.
At the center of the dispute is Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, whose reform agenda has proven deeply divisive. His austerity measures have included tax hikes, public sector wage and pension freezes, and cuts to public spending and public administration jobs. The PSD argues these measures are harming ordinary Romanians, while Bolojan’s allies insist the reforms are necessary to address Romania’s severe budget deficit, which stood at 9.3% of GDP in 2024, the highest in the EU.
The most alarming development is what has followed the coalition’s breakdown. The PSD and AUR jointly submitted a no-confidence motion against Bolojan, with AUR leader George Simion claiming it secured 251 signatures, well above the 233 needed. Analysts warn this breaks the pro-European coalition and offers the populist AUR a place at the mainstream table.
With its pro-European coalition fracturing and the far-right surging, Romania stands at a crossroads that will define the country’s democratic future.
Every week, your TiL Monday Briefing 🗞: you better read it with a cup of coffee! ☕️
Head of the Monday Briefing column: Pietro Ferrari. Current writing staff: Vatsal Aggarwal, Cristiana Murè. Cartoons by Polina Mednikova. The Monday Briefing column was established in its current form in 2021 by Bojan Zeric.
I’m Veronika. I grew up in the US but am half-Italian, half-Polish. I’m a first-year BIEM student and am interested in not only economics, but fashion, politics, books, and getting to know the community around me.
Hello everyone! My name is Teodora and I’m a 3rd year BIEM student from Bucharest, Romania. I spend my free time reading up on political issues from around the world and I’m particularly keen on topics concerning the European Union. On a more personal note, I’m passionate about art history, music and writing about the world around me.
