Accessibility helpSkip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer

Cookies on FT Sites

We use cookies and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our Sites are used.

Accept cookies
Manage cookies
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
Open side navigation menuOpen search bar
Financial Times
SubscribeSign InmyFT
  • Home
  • World
    Sections
    • World Home
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • War in Ukraine
    • Americas
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • Australia & NZ
    Most Read
    • Germany’s Olaf Scholz dismisses fears over Deutsche Bank
    • Passport rift between UK and Spain leaves Gibraltar in limbo
    • Rahul Gandhi barred from India’s parliament following conviction over Modi remarks
    • ‘Trump without the nonsense’: DeSantis treads fine line as popularity ebbs
    • Fed officials double down on rate rise decision citing high inflation
  • US
    Sections
    • US Home
    • US Economy
    • US Companies
    • US Politics & Policy
    Most Read
    • Companies
      Sections
      • Companies Home
      • Banks in turmoil
      • Energy
      • Financials
      • Health
      • Industrials
      • Media
      • Professional Services
      • Retail & Consumer
      • Tech Sector
      • Telecoms
      • Transport
      Most Read
      • Credit Suisse: the rise and fall of the bank that built modern Switzerland
      • Executive pay at Silicon Valley Bank soared after big bet on riskier assets
      • First Republic hit by succession crisis before Fed began raising rates
      • Karin Keller-Sutter: the finance minister behind the rescue of Credit Suisse
      • Inside the boardroom bust-up that shook Scottish Mortgage
    • Tech
    • Markets
      Sections
      • Markets Home
      • Alphaville
      • Markets Data
      • Cryptofinance
      • Capital Markets
      • Commodities
      • Currencies
      • Equities
      • Fund Management
      • Trading
      • Moral Money
      • ETF Hub
      Most Read
      • Deutsche Bank weighs on bank shares
      • Germany’s Olaf Scholz dismisses fears over Deutsche Bank
      • SEC raised concerns over hedge fund Rokos after losing bond bets
      • News updates from March 24: Scholz dismisses fears over Deutsche Bank, UK drops key concern on Microsoft’s Activision deal
      • Hundreds of funds to be stripped of ESG rating
    • Climate
    • Opinion
      Sections
      • Opinion Home
      • Columnists
      • The FT View
      • Lex
      • Obituaries
      • Letters
      Most Read
      • Conservatives win some culture battles, but they are losing the war
      • American banks face a looming credit risk
      • Sweep away Ofsted grading and allow teachers to teach
      • Time to ask what the directors were doing at these failed banks
      • Credit Suisse’s fate casts a shadow over the European banking sector
    • Work & Careers
      Sections
      • Work & Careers Home
      • Business School Rankings
      • Business Education
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Recruitment
      • Business Books
      • Business Travel
      Most Read
      • Culture clash: the challenge of uniting fierce rivals UBS and Credit Suisse
      • From SVB to the BBC: why did no one see the crisis coming?
      • Social media content moderators lead charge for better rights
    • Life & Arts
      Sections
      • Life & Arts Home
      • Arts
      • Books
      • Food & Drink
      • FT Magazine
      • House & Home
      • Style
      • Travel
      • FT Globetrotter
      Most Read
      • Is France on the road to a Sixth Republic?
      • Everything I, an Italian, thought I knew about Italian food is wrong
      • Journalist Bari Weiss: ‘I hate bullies, period’
      • To Istanbul, by train
      • We should regulate SUVs out of existence
    • HTSI
    MenuSearch
    • Home
    • World
    • US
    • Companies
    • Tech
    • Markets
    • Climate
    • Opinion
    • Work & Careers
    • Life & Arts
    • HTSI
    Financial Times
    SubscribeSign In

    Tony Barber

    European Comment Editor

    Tony Barber is European comment editor of the Financial Times. He is a former foreign correspondent in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, the former Soviet Union, the US and the former Yugoslavia.
    Email Tony Barber @TonyBarber8  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

    Add to myFT Digest

    Add this topic to your myFT Digest for news straight to your inbox

    • Saturday, 18 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Divided Georgia searches for elusive political stability Premium content

      Strongman rule, minority tensions and Russian intervention disrupt democracy in the south Caucasus state

    • Friday, 17 March, 2023
      Television
      The new weather forecast: cloudy with a chance of politicisation

      Rain or shine, meteorological bulletins have tended to display neutrality hidden by clouds of bias

    • Saturday, 11 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Europe’s troubled centre-right flirts with hardline partners Premium content

      Mainstream conservatives are struggling with a shrinking electoral base and the rise of nationalists and populists

    • Friday, 10 March, 2023
      UK immigration
      Britain and the EU are making a deadly hash of tackling irregular migration

      Comprehensive solutions are hard to devise, but illegal and inhumane measures are not the way forward

    • Saturday, 4 March, 2023
      Europe Express
      Poland commands centre stage in a reshaped Europe Premium content

      Praise for Warsaw’s support for Ukraine is mixed with concern over disputes with Germany and the EU

    • Saturday, 25 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Putin’s thirst for war, conquest and revenge is unquenched Premium content

      Ukraine girds itself for a second year of fighting against Russia for its independence and national identity

    • Tuesday, 21 February, 2023
      Instant InsightVladimir Putin
      Putin’s ultimate aim is to seal Russia off from the west

      The president’s state of the nation speech shows how domestic repression is closely tied to the Ukraine campaign

    • Saturday, 18 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Moldova eyes the west as Russia’s war rages in Ukraine Premium content

      A troubled 20th-century history and the relationship with Romania will shape the young state’s future

    • Saturday, 11 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Russia’s war reverses anti-Americanism in Europe Premium content

      Public attitudes towards the US are becoming more positive despite antipathies rooted in history and cultural outlook

    • Wednesday, 8 February, 2023
      History books
      De Gaulle grandson veers off the statesman’s track

      History contains some notable examples of progeny with more extreme politics than their parents or grandparents

    • Saturday, 4 February, 2023
      Europe Express
      Corruption in Europe: a continent divided Premium content

      Western and northern states score better in Transparency International’s closely watched report than those to the east and south

    • Saturday, 28 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      EU and US step up pressure for a Kosovo-Serbia settlement Premium content

      War is waking up western governments to the need for more vigorous diplomacy in the Balkans

    • Saturday, 21 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      Rasputin’s shadow spreads over Russia’s Wagner group Premium content

      The once secretive organisation plays a prominent role in the Ukraine war and is also blending into domestic politics

    • Saturday, 14 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      Charting a road map for the European Political Community Premium content

      Europe’s latest new organisation unites 44 states but its purpose and value remain open questions

    • Saturday, 7 January, 2023
      Europe Express
      Europe and China in 2023: an agreement to disagree? Premium content

      Friction between the two sides is growing but neither wants to provoke a complete breakdown of the relationship

    • Saturday, 31 December, 2022
      ObituaryReligion
      Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, 1927 - 2022

      German-born theologian became first pontiff to abdicate since the Middle Ages

    • Wednesday, 28 December, 2022
      Russian politics
      Central Asia emerges gingerly from the shadow of Russia

      Regional leaders fret that the Kremlin is no longer a guarantor of order and at worst could turn into a threat

    • Saturday, 24 December, 2022
      Europe ExpressWar in Ukraine
      Russia’s aggression strengthens Ukrainian national identity Premium content

      As a war of attempted imperial conquest proceeds in eastern Europe, western Europe reassesses its age of colonialism

    • Saturday, 24 December, 2022
      Language and grammar
      Year in a word: Zeitenwende

      A German concept that reflects this fraught era, conjured up by chancellor Olaf Scholz

    • Saturday, 17 December, 2022
      Europe Express
      Italy scores well on foreign policy, less well on the economy Premium content

      The new coalition led by Giorgia Meloni is standing firm on Ukraine but showing no obvious taste for overdue economic reforms

    • Saturday, 10 December, 2022
      Europe Express
      Germany reassesses Angela Merkel Premium content

      A foiled far-right plot shows democracy is strong, but the former chancellor’s legacy is under critical scrutiny

    • Wednesday, 7 December, 2022
      German politics
      Foiled plot highlights Germany’s far-right problem

      The attempted coup posed no real threat to democracy but complacency about future plots is dangerous

    • Saturday, 3 December, 2022
      Europe Express
      Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children stir accusations of genocide Premium content

      Western governments, human rights groups and the UN unite in condemning acts that follow a historical pattern

    • Saturday, 26 November, 2022
      Europe Express
      Erdoğan charts an unconventional economic path to re-election Premium content

      Even an opposition victory in next year’s polls would not greatly change Turkey’s muscular foreign policy

    • Thursday, 24 November, 2022
      FT SeriesBest books of the year 2022
      Best books of 2022: History

      Tony Barber selects his must-read titles

    Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

    Useful links

    Support

    View Site TipsHelp CentreContact UsAbout UsAccessibilitymyFT TourCareers

    Legal & Privacy

    Terms & ConditionsPrivacy PolicyCookiesCopyrightSlavery Statement & Policies

    Services

    Share News Tips SecurelyIndividual SubscriptionsGroup SubscriptionsRepublishingExecutive Job SearchAdvertise with the FTFollow the FT on TwitterFT ChannelsSecondary Schools

    Tools

    PortfolioToday's Newspaper (ePaper)Alerts HubBusiness School RankingsEnterprise ToolsNews feedNewslettersCurrency Converter

    Community & Events

    FT CommunityFT Live EventsFT ForumsFT Board DirectorBoard Director Programme

    More from the FT Group

    Markets data delayed by at least 15 minutes. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2023. FT and ‘Financial Times’ are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
    The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice.
    Financial Times

    International Edition

    Subscribe for full access
    • Switch to UK Edition

    Top sections

    • Home
    • World
      • Global Economy
      • UK
      • US
      • China
      • Africa
      • Asia Pacific
      • Emerging Markets
      • Europe
      • War in Ukraine
      • Americas
      • Middle East & North Africa
      • Australia & NZ
    • US
      • US Economy
      • US Companies
      • US Politics & Policy
    • Companies
      • Banks in turmoil
      • Energy
      • Financials
      • Health
      • Industrials
      • Media
      • Professional Services
      • Retail & Consumer
      • Tech Sector
      • Telecoms
      • Transport
    • Tech
    • Markets
      • Alphaville
      • Markets Data
      • Cryptofinance
      • Capital Markets
      • Commodities
      • Currencies
      • Equities
      • Fund Management
      • Trading
      • Moral Money
      • ETF Hub
    • Climate
    • Opinion
      • Columnists
      • The FT View
      • Lex
      • Obituaries
      • Letters
    • Work & Careers
      • Business School Rankings
      • Business Education
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Recruitment
      • Business Books
      • Business Travel
    • Life & Arts
      • Arts
      • Books
      • Food & Drink
      • FT Magazine
      • House & Home
      • Style
      • Travel
      • FT Globetrotter
    • Personal Finance
      • Property & Mortgages
      • Investments
      • Pensions
      • Tax
      • Banking & Savings
      • Advice & Comment
      • Next Act
    • HTSI
    • Special Reports

    FT recommends

    • Lex
    • Alphaville
    • Lunch with the FT
    • FT Globetrotter
    • #techAsia
    • Moral Money
    • FTfm
    • Newsletters
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • News feed
    • FT Live Events
    • FT Forums
    • Board Director Programme
    • myFT
    • Portfolio
    • Today's Newspaper (ePaper)
    • Crossword
    • Our Apps
    • Help Centre
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In