LONDON german-foreign-policy.com spoke with Alex Gordon about the growing resistance of British trade unions to the current arms build-up and the threat of war. Gordon was president of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the largest rail and transport union in the United Kingdom, from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2022 to 2024. He is also a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which has been campaigning against nuclear armament since its foundation in 1957. At the end of May, RMT and CND published the Alternative Defence Review, a counter-model to the Strategic Defence Review, the British government's central foreign and military policy strategy paper. The Alternative Defence Review has contributed to a change of course among British trade unions, which shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine supported the arms build-up enforced by the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Today, they have taken a clear stand against the diversion of huge amounts of public money away from the workers and towards the arms industry. Read more

BUDAPEST/BERLIN (own report) – Hungary as a production location has become a key player in Europe’s automotive and battery value chain. The ailing German car manufacturers face the prospect of Chinese competition emerging for the first time from within the EU. While Hungary’s automotive industry has long been dominated by German car manufacturers, the country is now also attracting companies from China. Major Chinese investment, initially focused on battery production, is part of a wider strategy: the new plants are being built primarily in the vicinity of German production facilities. These supplies have already developed well-established relationships with Germany’s automotive groups. Chinese battery manufacturers are linking into industrial structures built up in Hungary over decades-long German corporate presence, which was attracted by government incentives to locate eastwards. So Hungary, having become an industrial hub within Europe, is strengthening its position, in the short term at least, by adding value for German companies in particular. In the meantime, however, BYD is building a major plant in Hungary, becoming the first Chinese carmaker to begin vehicle assembly in Europe. This investment represents a significant expansion of China’s presence. In the medium term, it means that the crisis-ridden German automotive industry will face tougher competition from within the EU. Read more

BERLIN (own report) – The economic crisis in Germany is enabling a growing number of takeovers of German companies by foreign investors. On the one hand, Germany’s major corporations are in trouble while, on the other, industry is currently facing a wave of insolvencies above all among once resilient Mittelstand, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Just recently, the plastics and chemicals group Covestro became the first DAX-listed company to be swallowed up by a corporation from the Gulf States. Adnoc, from the United Arab Emirates, made its move back in October 2024. Among others, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is currently securing a majority stake in German electronics retailer Ceconomy (Media Markt, Saturn). JD.com has taken control in order to compete with Amazon and Alibaba in European markets. Chinese sports brand Anta Sports Products is considering the acquisition of Germany’s legacy brand Puma. Meanwhile, talks are continuing about the possible takeover of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe (TKSE), Germany’s largest steel manufacturer, by the Indian steel giant Jindal Steel International. Czech and Polish investors are also emerging as buyers, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. A growing number of German SMEs are threatened with bankruptcy. Germany has become the main target in the EU for foreign takeovers. Read more

WASHINGTON/BERLIN (own report) – The Trump administration is adopting the ‘remigration’ demand already voiced by the extreme right in Europe and initiating diplomatic steps to force governments, including Berlin, to follow racist deportation policies. President Trump declared last week that “only reverse migration” could save the United States. The US Department of Homeland Security is demanding “remigration now”. Washington is escalating its forced removals, primarily of non-white people. Meanwhile, white South Africans often from racist backgrounds are being accepted as “refugees” in the US. The demands set out in the AfD’s programme for the Bundestag election include “remigration”. The chair of the AfD youth organisation, newly founded at the weekend, advocates “millions of deportations”. In a recent cable, the State Department called on US embassies in the transatlantic world, including Germany, to exert strong pressure on their host governments to emulate Trump’s racist deportation policy. The long-term strategy is to forge a white, supposedly powerful bloc in the struggles for global hegemony. Read more