The First Ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland met today in Cardiff for an unprecedented summit, and the message they conveyed can be summed up in a single sentence: the era of Westminster is drawing to a close. Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalists), hosted John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party (Scottish nationalists), Michelle O’Neill, deputy leader of Sinn Féin (who support the reunification of the island of Ireland), and Mary Lou McDonald, the party’s leader.
The four leaders signed a memorandum of understanding which acknowledges that “the political landscape is changing”. The text states that no UK government “has the right to block democracy”, and calls on London to prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional changes in each of these territories. The signatories also express their conviction that the future of their nations lies within the European Union, as they believe Brexit has harmed their economies.
This was the first face-to-face meeting between these sister parties since Plaid Cymru’s victory in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) elections in May, which brought pro-independence parties to power in all three nations for the first time. They met in their capacities as party leaders, rather than as heads of government, to discuss economic cooperation, energy and self-determination.
Since taking office at Downing Street in July, Andy Burnham has made regional devolution in England one of his key priorities, but his policy towards decentralised administrations remains unclear. He reiterated to John Swinney last week that a new Scottish referendum remained out of the question. Donald Trump, whilst visiting Ireland, weighed in on the debate by stating that Irish reunification would be “fantastic” and that it “will eventually happen”, prompting a swift response from the British government and the unionists in the Northern Ireland Executive.
As for the timetables, they differ. Sinn Féin is counting on a referendum by 2030, the SNP wants a vote within five years, and Rhun ap Iorwerth prefers to leave the question of the timetable to the Welsh. The latest polls show support for independence at 47 per cent in Scotland, 36 per cent in Northern Ireland and 32 per cent in Wales. A spokesperson for the UK government responded that the Prime Minister prioritises partnership and the day-to-day concerns of families over constitutional debates and further referendums. Andy Burnham is due to meet the three First Ministers next month. The Guardian
Europe
🇵🇱 Poland - 🇺🇦 Ukraine • A Russian drone struck the locomotive of a Kyiv–Warsaw train yesterday, two kilometres from the Polish border; none of the 206 passengers were injured. Another train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European advisers had just passed the same spot. Overnight strikes left at least two people dead in Kramatorsk and damaged railway infrastructure in the Vinnytsia region. Mark Rutte described Vladimir Putin as “desperate”, whilst Berlin sees this as a deliberate escalation intended to sow fear across Europe. The Polish army has recovered what an initial inspection describes as a Russian military drone from the Baltic Sea, near Jaroslawiec.
🇷🇺 Russia - 🇺🇦 Ukraine - 🇺🇸 United States • Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December, a prospect the Kremlin deems “impossible”, proposing Moscow as an alternative. The Ukrainian president believes his country is “in a good position to negotiate” and plans to meet Donald Trump in late September. Trump has called on Kyiv to stop targeting Russian diesel refineries, linking the surge in fuel prices in the United States to the war in Ukraine rather than to the conflict he initiated in the Middle East.
🇫🇮 Finland – 🇫🇷 France • Helsinki has joined France’s “advanced” nuclear deterrent scheme, proposed by Emmanuel Macron, and has become the tenth European partner in this initiative launched at the start of the year. A nuclear steering group will be set up in the coming months, without any sharing of the final decision-making power (which remains with the French President) or the stationing of weapons in peacetime, clarified Finnish President Alexander Stubb, for whom NATO remains the primary security umbrella. The Kremlin has refrained from commenting.
🇸🇪 Sweden • Two political blocs emerged neck and neck from yesterday’s general election, with the left, led by Magdalena Andersson, securing 176 seats against 173 for the alliance of the right and the far right, separated by a margin of 29,000 votes. The former prime minister says she is “ready” to govern, Ulf Kristersson refuses to concede defeat, and the final result, including votes from Swedes abroad, is not expected until Wednesday. The surprise of the election lies in the decline of the Sweden Democrats (far-right), down to around 17.5 per cent from 20.5 per cent in 2022 – their first drop in support since they entered Parliament 16 years ago. Negotiations are set to be difficult on both sides: the centrist party refuses to share power with a radical left-wing party, whilst the right had promised ministerial posts to the far right.
🇪🇸 Spain - 🇲🇦 Morocco • More than 5,300 migrants who remained in Ceuta following the mass arrivals in July have voluntarily returned to Morocco within a month, according to Madrid. Nearly 1,000 people are currently being registered for their return, and the Ministry of Migration has opened 864 additional accommodation places.
🇩🇪 Germany • Some 150,000 people marched on Saturday in around 20 cities, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, against the AfD, in response to a call from the ‘Prüf’ campaign, which is campaigning for the party to be banned. The far-right, anti-immigrant and pro-Russian party won nearly 44 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt and is seeking to form the first far-right regional government since the end of the Second World War.
🇬🇪 Georgia • The head of the State Security Service, Geka Geladze, resigned on Monday after less than five months in post, marking the fourth departure from the top job at the institution in two years. With ministers leaving and former officials facing prosecution, analysts see this as a sign of divisions within the elite of the Georgian Dream party, whose hardline stance towards the opposition and the postponement of EU accession negotiations have put the country’s European trajectory on hold.
🇫🇮 Finland • Twelve countries meeting in Rovaniemi on Monday called on the European Union to play a “strategic and more proactive” role in the Arctic, where they view Russia as a significant and lasting threat. Kaja Kallas is calling, above all, for icebreakers, the European funding for which has been discussed. The summit precedes the presentation of a new Arctic strategy by the European Commission, seven months after Donald Trump’s threats regarding Greenland.
🇪🇺 European Union • More than nine million people have already taken part in the European Central Bank’s consultation on future euro banknotes, one of the most widely participated-in consultations ever conducted at European level. Europeans have until 21 September to give their views on 10 design proposals, divided between culture and nature. The Governing Council’s final decision will be announced by the end of the year.
Middle East
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia - 🇾🇪 Yemen • The Houthis today claimed responsibility for a “large-scale” attack involving dozens of missiles and drones against King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, having targeted Sharurah Air Base the previous day. One resident said he saw numerous missiles falling and a fire that burned for a very long time. Riyadh retaliated with around 50 strikes, according to the rebels, who have captured the port city of Mokha in the space of a few days and consolidated their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The fighting in recent weeks has left hundreds dead and displaced nearly 86,000 people, 1,400 of whom fled to Djibouti within 24 hours. Tehran denies any involvement and portrays the Houthis as entirely independent actors.
🇨🇳 China - 🇺🇸 United States - 🇮🇷 Iran • Donald Trump played down reports in the Wall Street Journal alleging that Chinese entities had provided Tehran with satellite images of the Jordanian base at Muwaffaq Salti, both before and after an Iranian strike that killed three American soldiers on 17 July. “When people say that China is spying on us, I say you’re right, and we’re spying on them too,” he remarked whilst on board Air Force One. In May, Washington had imposed sanctions on three China-based satellite companies.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia – 🇮🇷 Iran • Riyadh has requested the postponement of today’s meeting in Oman between the Gulf states and Iran on the security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The closure of the Saudi oil pipeline bypassing Hormuz, following drone attacks from Iraq, has pushed the price of Brent crude above $107 a barrel.
Asia-Pacific
🇵🇭 Philippines • The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region today elected its first local parliament, the culmination of a peace process that began in the late 1990s. More than two million voters were due to elect 80 members, with 13 political parties contesting the seats. Yesterday, a shootout between rival factions of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front left three people dead and 15 injured in Cotabato, where the electoral commission has taken control of security. More than 20,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed.
🇨🇳 China – 🇮🇳 India – 🇷🇺 Russia • The 11 BRICS members concluded a two-day summit in New Delhi yesterday, overcoming their divisions over the Middle East with a joint call for “maximum restraint” and deep concern over the escalating tensions. The statement made no mention of Ukraine. Narendra Modi called on the Global South to transform the pyramid-shaped structure of global decision-making into a partnership-based structure; Vladimir Putin welcomed a fairer, multipolar world order; and Xi Jinping called on the bloc to reject all forms of protectionism ahead of his visit to Washington. His presence in India marked a new stage in the thawing of relations with New Delhi.
🇰🇵 North Korea • The missile launches carried out on Saturday were part of live-fire exercises that tested drones, cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles, the official KCNA news agency reported today. These manoeuvres are intended to boost troop morale and their ability to “completely crush the enemy”, according to the commander of an artillery unit.
Americas
🇲🇽 Mexico • Around 10,000 people dressed in white marched yesterday in Culiacán against the Sinaloa cartel, at the call of the Catholic Church, business leaders and groups representing the families of victims. The war between factions within the cartel has claimed at least 3,000 lives in two years, including a one-year-old baby killed by a stray bullet last week. The 15,000 soldiers deployed by President Claudia Sheinbaum have failed to curb the violence, and demonstrators have burned an effigy of the president.
🇨🇦 Canada • On Wednesday, Mark Carney will be in Strasbourg as the first head of government to be invited to attend Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address, before addressing MEPs himself the following day. The Canadian Prime Minister, who describes his country as “the most European of non-European countries”, is seeking a unique alliance with Brussels rather than membership. In July, Canadian exports to the EU accounted for just over 5 per cent of the total, compared with nearly 70 per cent to the United States.
