Dr. Christian Mölling, deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations writes about the impact that a new fighter aircraft will have on Europe's defense industry. "Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel took the Franco-German defense partnership to a new level with their announcement on July 13 to jointly develop the next generation European fighter aircraft – the biggest armament project imaginable in Europe at the moment." Read his take here. 

In a New York Times editorial, David Goodhart, founder of Prospect magazine and recent author of The Road to Somewhere, argues for a constructively ambiguous Brexit. "There is a sense of drift and stalemate about British politics today...But this stalemate between the country's two  dominant 'values' blocs may turn out to be benign. Britons excel at constructive ambiguity, or 'muddling through,' and a constructive ambiguous Brexit may be exactly what Britain and Europe need." Read the full article here. 

The famed Turkish novelist, Elif Shafak, warns against complacency and self-consciousness and urges western thinkers to speak out. "Intellectuals should be bold and loud and yes, offensive. It is high time to stop denigrating the term. At least out of respect for those people who pay a heavy price in other parts of the world just to be a public intellectual." Read her full article here. 

N26, a digital only challenger bank, has expanded its range of consumer loans through a partnership with auxmoney, an online lender serving continental Europe. As with all other products of N26, customers can access credit with just a few clicks directly on the N26. "We see a strong trend towards platforms with multiple vendors. Through this partnership, we combine the advantages of a platform with excellent user experience," says Valentin Staff, founder and CEO of N26. Read more here. 

Author of the new book After Europe, Ivan Krastev discusses his interpretation of President Trump's speech in Warsaw in July by comparing it to "an old joke from the Cold War era: Two trains pull into Warsaw's Central Station - the westbound Moscow-Paris express and the return train from Paris heading in the opposite direction. A Frenchman peers out of the eastbound train, looks at the city and thinks, 'My Lord, Moscow is every bit as gray as I expected!' A Russian on the westbound train takes a quick look around and exclaims, 'Ah, que c'est beau, Paris!'" Read his full article here. 

Registration for our 24th annual meeting is now open! Don't miss out on the opportunity to reconnect with your G50 community in the magnificent city of Berlin. To register  please follow the link in the  email (Headlines & Bylines: Registration now open) sent to you in early June.  

The most popular female novelist in Turkey says the rise of populism in the west offers an opportunity for solidarity and sisterhood with the Middle East. Women across ages and nationalities are realizing that “we can’t take the rights we have for granted,” said writer Elif Shafak during the Guardian women seminar. Read more of her thoughts on feminism in the world.

Donald Trump's shoot-from-the-hip, inconsistent foreign policy threatens NATO and risks undermining efforts to curb Russian aggression and fight terrorism, argues Handelsblatt's Torsten Riecke. Read the full article here. 

Acclaimed public intellectual Ivan Krastev says our reading diet these days is filled with anniversaries and scandals. This year, bookstores are being invaded by an army of new books related to the centenary of the Russian Revolution. And on the scandal front, not a day seems to pass without a new disturbing, inflammatory indignity besmirching the Trump administration. Read more as Krastev explains the Russian revolution in light of Trump's administration.

For many on the liberal left, David Goodhart is persona non grata due to an essay he wrote for Prospect magazine in 2004 entitled "Too Diverse?" and his new book "The Road to Somewhere" will surely spark controversy as well. Jonathan Freedland reviews it for The Guardian.