Oliver Meier

I have a new piece in @armscontrolnow.bsky.social with my take on the 2026 #NPTRevCon. It includes a few thoughts on how to address the structural problems that have plagued the NPT and make this review cycle more productive and interesting: www.armscontrol.org/node/15506

Read Maria's ELN commentary, "A new Black Sea security arrangement is emerging from below" here:

Steadfast Noon is not your kind of game? Try RUMMY.

The International Criminal Court and its officials awarded the #SakharovPrize www.europarl.europa.eu/news/hr/pres... #ICC

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas has said that Brussels would use the next months "to open dialogue" on how to counter U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court — resisting calls from lawmakers to take quicker action.

Trump verhandelt *nicht* über Atomabrüstung mit Moskau und Peking, lieber @spiegel.de. Das ist wirklich ganz einfach zu recherchieren und "Newsmax" wohl kaum eine gute Quelle. Warum werden solch offenbar unsinnigen Meldungen einfach weiterverbreitet? www.spiegel.de/ausland/atom...

❗️German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected a proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets held in Europe to US control. “These are assets frozen in Europe, and they must remain frozen in Europe. This is our business, and we make the decisions on it,” Merz said. #Europe

Or both. www.politico.eu?p=9152060

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is facing a funding crisis because the US has not its dues. Former #OPCW Director-General and @theeln.bsky.social Network member Ahmet Üzümcü analyses what is at stake: europeanleadershipnetwork.org?p=27148

I would not say that this is "a problem" but rather good news for the prospects of a fair and equitable international order.

#BiologicalWeapons #Plague #Russia #Transparency Russia dismisses transparency calls amid reports of second Siberia plague case www.euronews.com/2026/10/07/r... Russia dismissed calls for transparency over the death of a laboratory technician from plague in Siberia on Wednesday, as reports ...

Catch-line to start the week: "Hiroshima is not a shrine. It’s the future." Good piece by Simon Tisdall in @theguardian.com 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The days are getting darker and shorter. It is that time of year again: www.nato.int/en/news-and-...

Very happy @nobelprize.org awarded Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, at time when international law under attack. Brings back memories of 2022, when German UN Association chickened out of awarding "Otto-Hahn-Friedensmedaille" because of smear campaign against Pillay. dgvn.berlin/2022/08/30/v...

“The demarche request appears to be an unusual administration effort to use allied government pressure to silence criticism from European citizens and Americans abroad” www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

Is Iran’s leverage beginning to erode? The latest ELN Iran Briefing examines the shifting strategic debate in Tehran after Washington rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks. Read the full briefing here👇 mailchi.mp/europeanlead...

Apparently no involvement of NATO non-nuclear weapon states, including Germany, at France's recent Poker exercise? united24media.com/war-in-ukrai...

Diese Abstimmung ist ein Skandal. Und vor dem Hintergrund der - zum Teil berechtigten - Vorwürfe der CDU in Bezug auf Antisemitismus in der Linken, umso mehr. Die CDU sollte auch den Antisemitismus in den eigenen Reihen angehen.

Zitat: „In einer Zeit, in der eine teilweise offen faschistische Partei (…) auf dem Weg zur Macht ist, entziehen sich die großen Publikumsmedien (…) ihrer Verantwortung, wenn sie weiterhin so tun, als würde die Linke die größte Gefahr für jüdische Sicherheit darstellen“ www.zeit.de/politik/deut...

@kjolvegeland.bsky.social writes that the CTBT is one of the last remaining legal frameworks underpinning European security. This commentary asks what the test-ban regime can teach us about building a new European security architecture. europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/t...

A special episode of the Ok, Doomer! podcast, taking stock of what the treaty has achieved over the past three decades, why it remains an important part of the global nuclear order despite never entering into force, and the challenges it faces today. europeanleadershipnetwork.org/multimedia/o...

@janabaldus.bsky.social argues that despite the treaty’s successes, it faces renewed pressure, not only in upholding verification and strategic stability, but also in addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear explosions. europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/w...

30 years ago, the CTBT opened for signature. Despite never entering into force, the treaty established a global norm around the prohibition of nuclear explosive testing. Marking this, @theeln.bsky.social is posting a series exploring what the treaty has achieved and what comes next 🧵

Trump's rant at the U.N. shows he's not just a wannabe dictator, he's also a wannabe Real Housewife

Odd, to suggest a linkage here? "Move came after Latvia agreed ⁠to abstain on an agreement among the EU member states to ​drop 2 billionaires from bloc's Russian sanctions list and to roll over remaining 3,000 ​individuals and entities for 2 years." www.reuters.com/world/europe...

How Much Has the U.S. Spent on the War in Iran? The Pentagon has given its most detailed estimate to date of the cost of the Iran war: $43.6 billion. Here’s how that breaks down. (No question that this is an underestimate of the true cost).

Just had a quick read of the US-Greenland-Denmark agreement and it seems like a complete non-event. Trump threatened the territorial integrity of a NATO ally and got nothing.

What could possibly go wrong? "The startup wants to push how its Claude AI can direct ​robotic units to carry out science experiments with limited human intervention, one of the people said." (This from same "people" who urgently call for slower AI development, btw.) www.reuters.com/world/anthro...

Dark: To celebrate delivery system for weapons of mass destruction the “living proof” of "the health" of the transatlantic relationship.🧐 breakingdefense.com?p=96128

Now imagine that during a crisis an AI draws from a huge amount of data to conclude that Russia or China are preparing a nuclear first strike and an under-pressure analyst sends that immediately up the chain.

The launch of a sounding rocket from Hawaii tested technology for the Mk7 reentry vehicle being developed for the U.S. Navy’s new W93 nuclear warhead. Mk7 will also be used for Britain’s next warhead. First full Mk7 flight test is planned in two years. newsreleases.sandia.gov/atrax_test/

Reading the @nytimes.com article, it sounds more like Putin is offering enticements to Trump. Not the other way around. 🧐https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/us/trump-putin-russia-sanctions.html

Another tick on the "balancing" side of my balancing vs. bandwagoning scorecard. Keep'em coming, please.✅

And now for something positive: A great development and in so many ways an allegory on the problems the world is facing today. (And is there any issue left the US would actually support in the UN these days?)

Who would have thought? Only diplomacy can offer a way out of the conflict. 🤷‍♂️ "At a conference early this month, Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati official, acknowledged that a diplomatic approach was inevitable, regardless of what had transpired." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/w...

It has come to our attention that a fabricated article predicting the collapse of Ukraine’s economy is circulating on Facebook and TikTok. The image falsely bears the ELN logo. The article was not published by the ELN, is fabricated, and does not reflect the views of the author.

Really interesting: Salvage fuzes as anti-failsafe measures.

The U.N. atomic watchdog's board reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council for the first time in 20 years for failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at various undeclared sites in Iran.

True: "The strikes were unjustifiable because it was evident that they would not succeed." Also true: They were unjustifiable because they clearly violated the UN Charter, thus undermining international law and diplomacy. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Grossi: "South Korea has officially notified the Secretariat of its intention to initiate discussions with the IAEA regarding a separate agreement under Article 14 of the CSA." www.chosun.com/english/nati...