Raphael Minder

Central Europe correspondent for The Financial Times, based in Warsaw. Previously New York Times in Spain. Book author of "¿Esto es España?" Views are my own.

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Czechoslovak Group is eyeing a "transformative" tie-up with tank maker KNDS, even as the German and French government seek strong participation before KNDS's planned listing. CSG Strnad tells FT "there are synergies from day one." https://t.co/BjIqTaWpds

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Czech Republic is likely to fall short of Nato's defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP, but has the advantage of having a prime minister who remains a committed Trumpist, Andrej Babiš tells FT. https://t.co/2JA7fb6q8D

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Poland's President Nawrocki has proposed stripping Zelenskyy of Poland's highest honour for paying tribute to the Ukrainian army that Poland blames for the killing of Poles in the 1940s. https://t.co/gPwMpINJkd via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Poland's government is rushing to finalise 40 defence manufacturing contracts before Sunday's EU deadline, so as to use most of its €43.7bn of Safe defence loans to grow Polish industry. https://t.co/0pjQDVkbYt

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

The number of countries participating in a Czech-led initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine has halved since Prime Minister Andrej Babiš returned to office in December on a pledge not to make Czech citizens pay for Ukraine’s weapons. https://t.co/yRW5pO8HVE

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Europe needs plan to replace US forces, says Czech president https://t.co/UDNqJOntwm via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

The house of the Auschwitz commandant is now hosting a show about an SS ornithologist. This initiative follows the takeover of the controversial site by an American NGO fighting extremism. https://t.co/4UTmTC0Lam

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Poland accused of helping ICE deport Ukrainians from US https://t.co/yK5dDT5xLm via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Poland has carried out as many counter-intelligence investigations over the past two years as in the previous three decades, in response to a significant escalation in Russian espionage and sabotage activity. https://t.co/tJk2djsyL5 via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Jarosław Kaczyński, the veteran leader of Poland’s rightwing opposition, is facing a mounting challenge to his authority over the party he founded 25 years ago. https://t.co/11STgH5BDc

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Ammunition maker Czechoslovak Group has rejected claims by a short seller that it withheld information from investors during its initial public offering in January, one of Europe’s largest this year. Its share price is down 50 per cent since IPO.
https://t.co/pXiCPmB4aZ via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

In Slovakia, Premier Fico is counting the construction of two big hospitals as defence spending, allowing his country to reach the 2% Nato target. “Neither hospital was in our original defence plans, nor has the military or Nato asked for them." https://t.co/dlkn5WUhkW via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

The Slovak city of Trenčín's only sizeable auditorium is the House of the Army, managed by Slovakia’s defence ministry. But it is using its selection as a European Capital of Culture in 2026 to upgrade infrastructure while placing itself on the arts map. https://t.co/TRGoSIfkKr

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Slovakia's Premier Fico called it "positive discrimination," but Brussels is demanding an end to Hungarian and Slovak pricing systems that make fuel more expensive for foreign motorists. https://t.co/ba6aWvPxAU via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Selling Poland’s gold reserves to buy arms is a ‘mirage’, finance minister warns https://t.co/1u2i6aSX3X via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Poland has found an unlikely celebrity in Edward, or Edek, a humanoid that is now the country's first robotic social media influencer. Edek can debate politicians, and even run after wild boars in Warsaw. https://t.co/OFfwNUVB5h

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Trump is “a leader of chaos” whose US administration is also meddling in European elections, according to the speaker of Poland’s parliament, who has clearly departed from Warsaw's usual deference towards its Washington ally. https://t.co/Pb1GsQrTPx

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Wymysorys only has about 30 active speakers in southern Poland. But its revival has upset nationalists who promote Poland's cultural homogeneity, led by President Karol Nawrocki who vetoed its recognition as a regional language. https://t.co/VasoFuAzIM

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

Fire at Czech factory working with Israel's defence sector is being investigated as probable terrorist arson attack https://t.co/h3d76rYmjs via @ft

[Raphael Minder @RaphaelMinder]

The Rail Baltica train link between Warsaw and the Baltic states is running 10 years behind schedule, Poland's top government rail official is warning. It's a "self-cheating process" to claim this flagship EU project will be finished by 2030. https://t.co/NIHGyNtpN9 via @ft