TODAY’S OTHER SUMMIT: NATO begins its two-day meeting of defense ministers in Brussels today. Ahead of that, our colleagues Florian Eder and Laurenz Gehrke have this essential interview with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. And she has a blunt message for her European counterparts: Forget any lofty ideas about the Continent defending itself and get real — trying to operate militarily without the U.S. is the “wrong way to go.”
WEIDMANN’S EARLY EXIT:
Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann announced his retirement from one buy phone number list of the most important jobs. German (and EU) finance on Wednesday, just two years after he was given another eight-year mandate. Weidmann, known as a fiscal hawk, took the opportunity to fire a warning shot about inflation. As he made his announcement. The longest-serving member of the ECB governing council. Weidmann’s departure adds a new layer of uncertainty into the German political climate as government formation talks continue.
ROMANIAN MPs REJECT CIOLOŞ: Romanian MPs on Wednesday sms to data rejected a proposal that Dacian Cioloș form a government and become the country’s next prime minister. POLITICO’s Matei Rosca has more.
TAIWAN WARNING:
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell significantly upped the rhetorical ante on Taiwan on Wednesday, warning that China’s threats to the island could have a direct impact on European security, not least because find set up automatic updates of its status as one of the world’s largest microchip makers. Borrell was speaking in the European Parliament, where MEPs debated EU-Taiwan political relations. Our colleague Stuart Lau has more.