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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.

In 2012 he was awarded the Medal of Gratitude by the Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk in recognition of his work in support of freedom and democracy in Poland. He wrote the introduction to Mud Sweeter Than Honey, a book on communist Albania by the author Margo Rejmer.

Email Tony Barber @TonyBarber8  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Saturday, 24 February, 2024
    Europe Express
    Orbán rides out a scandal Premium content

    Hungary’s leader discards the head of state and sets his sights on transforming the EU from within

    Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán arrives for a meeting an an EU summit in Brussels in December last year
  • Saturday, 24 February, 2024
    ObituaryMike Procter
    Mike Procter, South African cricketer, 1946-2024

    One of the sport’s greatest all-rounders who was denied a long Test career because of his country’s apartheid system

    Black and white photo of Mike Procter inspecting the ball during a match in 1973
  • Saturday, 17 February, 2024
    Europe Express
    Farmers on the march Premium content

    Rural protests are disrupting EU climate change policies and heightening political tensions

  • Saturday, 17 February, 2024
    ObituaryRobert Badinter
    Robert Badinter, French lawyer and justice minister, 1928-2024

    Human rights champion who secured the death penalty’s abolition in his country and advised on Yugoslavia’s break-up

    Robert Badinter in his office in Paris
  • Thursday, 15 February, 2024
    European Union
    Elections threaten to upset Europe’s centrist apple cart

    Gains for the hard right in June’s EU parliament vote could disrupt climate, migration and trade policies

    María Hergueta illustration of a tower of yellow cards on a blue background, with the cards on the right falling to the ground
  • Saturday, 3 February, 2024
    Europe ExpressWar in Ukraine
    Ukraine under closer western scrutiny Premium content

    As the war approaches its third year, questions are being asked about political struggles, corruption and freedom

  • Saturday, 27 January, 2024
    Europe Express
    Preparing Europe for Trump 2.0 Premium content

    The former president’s possible return alarms mainstream politicians but appeals to some on the hard right

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, June 2019
  • Wednesday, 24 January, 2024
    Slovakia
    Populism rears its head once more in central Europe

    Robert Fico aligns Slovakia with Hungary’s illiberalism as Poland tries to go in the other direction

    Robert Fico at a press conference during a visit to Budapest last week
  • Saturday, 20 January, 2024
    Europe Express
    Germany treads a delicate path on China Premium content

    Extensive trade and investment ties complicate a firmer approach on national security

    German chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and China’s premier Li Qiang in June 2023
  • Tuesday, 16 January, 2024
    ReviewFT Books Essay
    What a post-war future holds for Ukraine and Russia

    Four books look at the forging of a new Ukrainian national identity in the furnace of war — and a glimmer of light in the Russian exiles who have fled their homeland

  • Saturday, 13 January, 2024
    Europe Express
    Why is the EU soft on Serbia? Premium content

    Democratic backsliding and warm ties with Russia seem less important to Brussels than co-operation on migration

    Anti-government protests in Serbia
  • Sunday, 7 January, 2024
    Russian politics
    Conspiracy theories, repression and sycophancy define Putin’s Russia

    The autocrat seems certain of re-election in March amid a political culture awash with strange fantasies and obsessions

    Close up photo of unsmiling Vladimir Putin
  • Saturday, 6 January, 2024
    Europe Express
    Reports of Belgium’s death are exaggerated Premium content

    Far-right separatist party is set for a strong result in June elections but dissolving the state would be difficult

    Crowds at the Manneken Pis statue in Brussels
  • Thursday, 28 December, 2023
    ObituaryJacques Delors
    Jacques Delors, European statesman, 1925-2023

    As the strongest European Commission president yet, he relentlessly drove forward his goal of creating a united Europe

    Jacques Delors
  • Wednesday, 27 December, 2023
    ObituaryWolfgang Schäuble
    Wolfgang Schäuble, German statesman, 1942-2023

    A towering figure of postwar European politics who played defining roles in reunification and the eurozone crisis

  • Saturday, 23 December, 2023
    Europe Express
    Ten reasons to be cheerful about 2023

    From Poland’s elections to the best-ever edition of Oliver Cromwell’s works, the year wasn’t so bad after all

    This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her human rights activism. Her husband Taghi Rahmani, and their children Kiana and Ali, wave during a torchlight procession organised by the Norwegian Peace Council in Oslo earlier this month
  • Saturday, 16 December, 2023
    Europe Express
    Is Russian foreign policy succeeding? Premium content

    Vladimir Putin’s aim of disrupting the US-led international order is closely tied to his war of expansion in Ukraine

  • Saturday, 9 December, 2023
    Europe Express
    Support for Europe’s left wanes as fresh faces in Italy and Greece struggle to turn the tide Premium content

    Internal splits and election setbacks form a trend despite a likely Labour victory in the UK

    A protester with a banner that reads ‘what is urgent is the planet, in the hope of having a pension’
  • Sunday, 3 December, 2023
    EU economy
    Island strife: Greece serves Germany a dose of its own medicine 

    A former minister in Athens turns the tables with a proposal that recalls unwelcome advice during the debt crisis

  • Saturday, 2 December, 2023
    Europe Express
    Russia struggles with a demographic crunch Premium content

    Efforts to raise birth rates and increase the population are making little headway

  • Saturday, 25 November, 2023
    Europe Express
    Populists seek dividends from a climate change backlash

    Hard-right parties make gains in Europe by exploiting fears that incomes and ways of life are under threat

    Defaced election campaign posters in Kaufbeuren for Germany’s Green Party. The red lettering reads ‘AFD’, the name of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, ahead of the regional election in Bavaria last month
  • Friday, 24 November, 2023
    FT News Briefing podcast12 min listen
    What the Dutch far-right win means for the EU

    Record net migration to the UK post-Brexit

  • Thursday, 23 November, 2023
    Instant InsightDutch election
    Far-right Dutch victory puts European liberal democracy on defensive

    Geert Wilders’ success will make it harder for EU to forge common stances on migration, Ukraine and enlargement

    Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom party (PVV)
  • Thursday, 16 November, 2023
    FT SeriesBest books of the year 2023
    Best books of 2023 — History

    Tony Barber selects his must-read titles

    Montage of book covers
  • Sunday, 12 November, 2023
    Serbia
    Serbia is a poor fit for EU enlargement plans

    Democratic backsliding and a foreign policy close to Russia cast doubt on whether Belgrade really wants to join the club

    Aleksandar Vucic sitting at his desk looking down at documents
Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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