Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has warned that Russia’s president Putin “is trying to break the people of Ukraine, hoping to weaken their resolve,” but he drew on his last week’s visit to the country saying that “they have show time and again they will not be broken” (15:07, 15:18, 15:21).
His comments come after Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned that “as long as Russia continues to kill people and destroy our infrastructure, there will not be sufficient public trust in active diplomacy” (13:43), amid reports of US putting pressure on Kyiv to end the war (10:17) despite continued Russian attacks.
The trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks are expected to continue next week, Zelenskyy said (14:28).
Key talks on European security are expected to be continued at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, which we will report live here, on Europe Live.
Separately, Nato announced that its Arctic Sentry mission to strengthen the alliance’s presence and the regional security in the Arctic has now formally begun (13:11), seemingly in large part in response to Donald Trump’s recent complaints about the region’s security as he discussed his intention of acquiring Greenland (15:11, 15:24, 15:35).
Meanwhile,
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen insisted this morning that the EU needs to “tear down” the economic barriers that prevent it from becoming “a global giant” and deepen its internal market, as she kicked off 48 hours of intensive discussions on the bloc’s economy (9:51).
Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni emerged as leaders of a group of countries pushing for rapid reforms of the EU to increase the bloc’s competitiveness ahead of tomorrow’s crunch summit in Belgium (12:01).
The commission has also outlined its plan to counter drone threats after months of disruptions caused by drones and meteorological balloons affecting major airports across the EU (11:38).
Speaking of which, major disruptions loom in German air traffic on Thursday after calls by two unions for strikes by Lufthansa pilots and cabin crew (12:52).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Take your relationship to next level with video game, Spanish bishops tell couples
in Madrid
On a lighter note, faced with a steeply declining number of church weddings, Spanish bishops have turned their eye to the virtual realm in the hope that a new video game will help entice more couples to the altar.
According to the most recent figures, less than 18% of all weddings in Spain in 2024 – 31,462 out of 175,364 – took place in church. The numbers are dramatically down from 2007 when more than 55% of weddings happened in a Roman Catholic church.
The dwindling numbers, coupled with high divorce rates, have led the church to launch a number of initiatives in recent years designed to safeguard and promote the sacrament of marriage.
Its latest campaign uses a video game, Level Up! A Two-player Game, to try to explore and explain the qualities on which marriage depends.
The retro game, whose slogan is “El amor, la aventura más épica” (Love is the most epic adventure), features a young couple, Fran and Elena, going about their daily tasks and earning prizes as they learn about the importance of patience, generosity, modesty, integrity and empathy.
The idea of the game is to provide players with real-life situations “such as problems at work, a stag do at a resort, a relationship with an ex-girlfriend” as they reflect on marriage. It is being rolled out in time for Valentine’s Day.
“The campaign is also proactive, aiming to showcase the beauty of Christian marriage,” the Spanish bishops’ conference said in a statement. “It’s not primarily aimed at those already committed, but rather seeks to encourage couples who desire a stable commitment to consider a church wedding.”
The idea was suggested by students at the Pontifical University of Salamanca and developed by a professional video game designer.
