*** Analysis: Europe – 25 July 2026 ***
EU’s 21st Russia Sanctions Package Reveals Deep Divisions
EU ambassadors approved the 21st sanctions package against Russia on 24 July, freezing the oil price cap at $44 per barrel for another year, targeting shadow fleet vessels, additional banks (including SWIFT disconnections), and individuals linked to the Ukraine war. Member states can now confiscate and sell cargo from boarded shadow fleet tankers. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed the measures continue to weaken Russia’s war economy.
Background includes prior packages that already banned most Russian oil imports to the EU, pushing Moscow toward alternative markets and its shadow fleet. Negotiations were chaotic, with national opt-outs dominating: Greece secured a renewable exemption for its LNG shipping firms serving Russia’s Yamal plant; Bulgaria blocked sanctions on Patriarch Kirill; fish import bans were dropped over German, Polish and Portuguese concerns; and a Baltic push to bar Russian war participants was diluted by France, Italy and Greece.
Key tensions centre on the gap between rhetoric of “hitting Putin where it hurts” and member states prioritising domestic economic interests. Analysis shows this pattern of watering-down has become structural once low-hanging fruit was exhausted and Orbán no longer served as sole scapegoat. Open questions include legal challenges to cargo seizures (already blocked in some national courts), Russia’s threatened responses, and whether the EU can ever achieve coherent economic pressure without further centralising power over national sovereignty. The package hands Moscow a PR win by demonstrating resilience and EU disunity.
Burnham Becomes UK PM with Northern Focus
Andy Burnham assumed office as UK Prime Minister earlier this week, the first born-and-bred Northerner in the role since Harold Wilson. He has emphasised regional inequality via a “No. 10 North” operation and cultural references to Northern music and poetry. UnHerd pieces on 25 July frame this as a potential devolutionary moment, drawing parallels to modernist poet Basil Bunting’s mid-20th-century advocacy for Northern cultural and political distinctiveness.
Background involves Labour’s internal shifts after Keir Starmer’s earlier departure, fiscal constraints inherited from previous rules, and long-standing English over-centralisation in London-based institutions. Burnham faces the same bond-market pressures as predecessors and has signalled continuity on fiscal rules while promising energy and regional policy adjustments. Concurrently, a YouGov poll reported on 24 July found only 6% of Britons would volunteer to fight an imminent invasion, with 17% refusing even if conscripted.
Key tensions involve whether cultural signalling and structural tweaks can address deeper national cohesion issues, including eroded patriotism and institutional distrust. Analysis distinguishes Burnham’s regional pitch as imaginative foundation-building from unproven delivery capacity under tight finances. Open questions remain on the practical limits of English devolution (boundaries, powers) and whether low defence willingness signals broader governance failure that any premiership must confront beyond symbolism.