MULTILATERAL: European Army & more – 3rd Feb 2026

Saluton from BA! This is the Rorshok Multilateral Update from the 3rd of February twenty twenty-six. A summary of what's going down in the world's major multilateral institutions.

To begin this week, on Monday the 26th, NATO’s Secretary-General told European lawmakers in Brussels that the idea of a standalone European army isn’t realistic right now and urged politicians pushing it to rethink it. Some politicians have floated the idea as a way to keep Europe safe, as the United States is scaling back its involvement in European security.

He said separate forces could end up duplicating work and be much more expensive, especially if nuclear forces were needed, and stressed that Europe still relies on the U.S. military partnership for core defence. Rutte also argued that maintaining a united NATO front was more effective than splitting off into a new structure.

Also related to Europe, on Tuesday the 27th, India and the European Union agreed on a long-sought free trade deal that covers a huge share of global commerce after nearly twenty years of talks.

Officials from both sides called it a major step in their economic relationship and an opportunity to deepen cooperation beyond buying and selling.

On Friday the 30th, United Nations officials warned that it could run out of money soon because the United States sharply cut its financial support and pulled back from many programs. The U.N. secretary-general said Washington’s boycott of multiple agencies and refusal to pay into regular budgets have left the organization struggling to cover costs.

Diplomats and UN staff are scrambling to find solutions, but without major contributors stepping up, the shortfall could affect operations and planning in the months ahead.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the 31st, the United Nations Security Council voted to keep the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in place for another year. Most members supported the resolution. The decision signals continued international backing for the mission’s work in maintaining calm between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and encourages cooperation around issues like crossing points and dialogue.

There is a UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus because intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots escalated decades ago. The UN force monitors the ceasefire that was implemented, patrols the buffer zone, and helps prevent renewed fighting and supports diplomatic efforts toward a lasting settlement.

In an update to a story we have reported on previous shows, on Monday the 26th, judges at the International Criminal Court ruled that former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is medically able to take part in pre-trial proceedings against him. His legal team had argued his health problems should prevent him from attending, but independent medical experts concluded he can follow the case and participate meaningfully.

Duterte faces charges alleging crimes against humanity tied to his controversial anti-drug campaign. His lawyers said they plan to appeal the decision.

On Wednesday the 28th, Thailand rolled out a new analytical model designed to help policymakers link environmental goals with real-world economic and labor data so they can see how proposed climate actions might affect jobs and the skills of workers.

The tool is meant to give a fuller picture of options before decisions are made and is built with input from local and international partners to reflect Thailand’s own development needs. Officials also held training so it can be used for future policy design to better guide the country’s shift toward greener industries.

On Friday the 30th, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released its Economic Survey of Croatia and said the country’s economy has been steadily catching up with richer peers but needs disciplined budgeting and structural fixes to keep that momentum going.

For context, Croatia’s economy is service-based, with tourism as its main driver, contributing a large share of GDP and employment. Manufacturing, shipbuilding, and food processing remain important, while EU membership has boosted trade, investment, and infrastructure funding, though productivity and demographic decline remain long-term challenges.

Moving to the Americas, on Thursday the 29th, three months after Hurricane Melissa tore through parts of the Caribbean, the Pan American Health Organization or PAHO said it’s shifting its work from urgent response to longer-term support.

Teams from PAHO have been helping assess and fix damaged clinics, prioritizing safety and steady service delivery, and coordinating with local health authorities as emergency medical crews stand down.

On Friday the 30th, the Inter-American Development Bank announced changes to how it lends money so countries can get support faster in tough moments and scale up projects that are already working well. The bank simplified its mix of loans, grants and guarantees and added tools to help nations manage disaster risks and finance longer-term programs that address shared challenges.

Speaking of which, on Tuesday the 27th, the Organization of American States and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean agreed to work more closely on shared challenges affecting the region.

Leaders at the International Economic Forum in Panama City announced two new joint initiatives: one to create a regional observatory that gathers and shares data on organized crime and illicit markets to support public policy, and another to help Haiti’s national ID program so more citizens can get recognized documents, access services and participate in elections.

In health news, on Friday the 30th, the World Health Organization reported that several regions recently held large-scale drills in which health authorities played out emergency scenarios to test how well countries would spot, share information about, and respond to potential public health threats.

Participants used international rules and communication platforms to coordinate across sectors and draft key documents as if a real event were happening. Observers saw clearer roles and better inter-agency communication than in past exercises.

On another note, on Tuesday the 27th, the African Union’s peer review unit warned that credit scores published by Fitch about the African Export-Import Bank could give investors the wrong idea if the agency keeps issuing them now that the bank has cut ties with it.

The bank ended its relationship with Fitch after disagreeing with how its finances were judged, including a downgrade last year to just above non-investment grade.

Also in Africa, on Friday the 30th, the Economic Community of West African States wrapped up the first phase of a media training program for journalists from the region in Dakar, Senegal. The two-day sessions focused on teaching reporters how to spot and push back against misleading or false information and encouraged ethical, fact-based reporting.

On Sunday the 1st, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, stuck with its plan to leave oil production the same, keeping output paused at levels set late last year, even as crude prices have climbed amid worries about tensions between the United States and Iran. With prices near their highest in months, analysts noted that geopolitical fears are one factor in pricing, but the group didn’t signal any new changes beyond March.

OPEC is a group of major oil-exporting countries that coordinates petroleum production to influence global oil prices and market stability. By setting production targets for its members, OPEC aims to balance supply and demand while protecting the interests of oil-producing states.

Finishing off this edition, on Monday the 26th, in an opinion piece, Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, argued that recent contacts between U.S. officials and Alberta separatists represent a serious assault on Canada’s sovereignty and that Canadians should push back hard.

He said that by engaging with secessionist figures, members of the Trump administration are encouraging the breakup of Canada and interfering in its internal political affairs. He warned that this kind of foreign involvement is dangerous and unprecedented, and that it reflects a broader willingness by the United States to pressure or destabilize its neighbors.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

And that's it for this week. But wait, we have an important thing to tell you. We've decided to bring the Rorshok Multilateral Update to an end. We've loved doing it and it has been going since twenty twenty-three. Originally, we'd sort of hoped that the listeners could connect and a small community might form, but one way or another, we didn't know how to do that, and it hasn't really happened. And putting them out every week is lots of work and not cheap....so we're just going to stop and focus on the other community building things Rorshok is doing. You can check out our projects on our website. Thank you for listening all these years. . We'd love to hear from you, so if you’ve got any questions or ideas, send us an email at info@rorshok.com.

See you next week!