No-shows & Neutrals

Will Trump actually show up to the NATO summit and is Washington really floating a "defence loyalty programme"? Also, can neutral Ireland credibly chair Europe's defence debate as it takes the EU chair? A former President & a comedian on what's going on and what comes next. Subscribe so you don't miss our Ankara NATO summit debrief next week. CLARIFICATIONS Irish corporate tax — Ireland had the lowest corporate tax rate in the EU when the American tech giants set up their European headquarters there. Today the EU's lowest headline rates are Hungary's (9%) and Amazon's European HQ is in Luxembourg, not Ireland. Alumina and Rusal — Sweden's tax authority, Skatteverket, has ruled that Rusal's European operations (which include the Irish plant) should fall under EU sanctions, and froze €5.1m in the tax account of its Swedish smelter, Kubal. It's an agency ruling with EU-wide implications rather than a formal Swedish Government request for action to the EU. Ireland's waters — Ireland's waters (not coastline) make up roughly 16% of the EU's total. NATO — The Secretary General’s term is 4 years and, following Sweden’s accession in 2024, the organisation now has 32 members. Putin's yacht — Since this episode was published, latest reporting is that the yarcht is heading to the Artic, not the Med. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:30 Putin's yacht 00:05:05 NATO Summit: the pre-amble 00:13:10 Toomas' dramatic NATO Summit 00:15:16 Ireland takes the EU Presidency 00:23:05 Revisit: The Balkan-US grift 00:26:52 Was the American Revolution all about defence spending? 00:28:19 Credits Youtube @TheContinentalRift (https://www.youtube.com/@TheContinentalRift) Instagram @thecontinentalriftpod (https://www.instagram.com/thecontinentalriftpod/) Facebook TheContinentalRift (https://www.facebook.com/TheContinentalRift/) X @ContRiftShow (https://x.com/ContRiftShow) CREDITS Editor Conan Roberts - https://conanroberts.com/Homepage Animation & Design Roland Seer - Tartu Multifilm @rolandseer Music by Paabel @paabeltheband (Estonian folk-fusion) Executive Producer Fred Casella https://www.freshlens.film/ © Fresh Lens Film Sàrl 2026 all rights reserved