Latest news with #Buras
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
An Entire Hidden Layer of Reality May Be Lurking Just Below the Standard Model of Physics
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Although CERN's Large Hadron Collider has made a lasting impact on particle physics, it hasn't yet open up a whole new frontier of particle physics like some scientists expected. One scientist champions a theory that new physics could be hiding in what he calls the 'zeptouniverse'—the realm of objects on the scale of the zeptometer (which is 1 quintillionth of a meter)—and that the best way to explore that universe is through observing kaon and B meson decays. Future colliders will likely be able to directly observe the zeptouniverse, but for now, studying these decays could help us find new physics within the decade. We humans have gotten pretty good at glimpsing the invisible. The Large Hadron Collider—our premier instrument for exploring the subatomic—can thoroughly explore the world of the attometer, which is (incredibly) just one-quintillionth of a meter. Famously, the LHC confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson in 2012, and physicists prepared for a rush of new particles to explain lingering mysteries of the universe like the existence of dark matter and matter-antimatter asymmetry. But that explosion of discovery didn't really materialize. That's certainly not to say nothing has happened since then, but no major revelations on par with the Higgs have been discovered since. And now, a new article in New Scientist, written by particle physicist Harry Cliff who works on the LHCb experiment, details one theory as to why we haven't found what we were expecting to find. At its most basic, many of these revelations could be hiding in what's sometimes referred to as the 'zeptouniverse,' which is a world that only exists at the 10-21-meter scale. The LHC can only analyze particles directly down to 50 zeptometers, but Cliff highlights a theory—largely championed by Technical University of Munich theoretical physicist Andrzej Buras—that these elusive particles could simply be beyond LHC's detection capabilities. Of course, a better detector could open up this frontier—CERN completed a feasibility study for the Future Circular Collider (FCC) just earlier this year. But Buras believes that we can explore this frontier of new physics indirectly without the need to wait the several decades required to finally probe this question (the FCC won't perform high-energy physics until 2070). In 2020, Buras explored this question in an article for Physik Journal, writing: Can we reach the Zeptouniverse, i.e., a resolution as high as 10–21m or energies as large as 200 TeV, by means of quark flavour physics and lepton flavour violating processes in this decade well before this will be possible by means of any collider built in this century? In a paper uploaded to the preprint server arXiv last year, Buras identified seven possible targets for this investigation, which he dubbed the 'magnificent seven,' according to New Scientist. All seven are extremely rare decays of particles containing strange and bottom quarks, which Cliff calls 'echoes from the zeptouniverse.' Luckily for Buras, some experiments are already searching for these ultra-rare decays. One example of such a decay starts with the B meson—a kind of composite particle made of different quarks, as Cliff explains. In 2023, the Belle II experiment in Japan captured this decay in action, producing another particle called a kaon (or K meson) and two neutrinos. However, because the experiment wasn't set-up to directly detect neutrinos, information about them is limited. This isn't the only ultra-rare decay that's been detected recently, either. In September of 2024, the NA62 experiment at CERN recorded the decay of a positively charged kaon into a pion and a matter-antimatter pair. It's thought that less than one in 10 billion kaons should decay in this way. Because this interaction is sensitive to Standard Model deviations, it's identified as one of the prime targets for finding new physics. Today, the KOTO experiment in Japan is searching for a second confirmation of this kaon decay. 'The search for new particles and forces beyond those of the Standard Model is strongly motivated by the need to explain dark matter, the huge range of particle masses from the tiny neutrino to the massive top quark, and the asymmetry between matter and antimatter that is responsible for our very existence,' Buras wrote last year in the trade magazine CERN Courier. 'As direct searches at the LHC have not yet provided any clue as to what these new particles and forces might be, indirect searches are growing in importance.' Scientists are only beginning to peer inside the unknown frontier of the zeptouniverse, and until next-generation colliders are up and running, these extremely rare decays are our only windows into that universe. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life? Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
30-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
‘PATHETIC' Europe may finally be waking up from its military slumber
It was a televised ambush that many in Europe hope will stop a war. Donald Trump's dressing-down of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression. Reeling, perhaps even fearful, Europe may have finally come to its senses over its self-defense needs in the era of Trump. 'It is as if Roosevelt welcomed Churchill (to the White House) and started bullying him,' European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann told CNN. In a month when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Europe 'PATHETIC' for 'free-loading' on defense in a group chat with administration officials (which inadvertently included a journalist for The Atlantic), the continent has been shattering decades-old taboos on defense. Policies are on the table that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago. The biggest change came in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. After the federal election, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz won a vote in parliament to scrap Germany's constitutional 'debt brake' – a mechanism to limit government borrowing. In principle, the law change allows for unlimited spending on defense and security. Experts expect the move to unlock as much as €600 billion ($652 billion) in Germany over the next decade. 'This is a game-changer in Europe, because Germany was the laggard – especially among the big countries – when it comes to defense,' Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank, told CNN. In getting over its phobia of debt, Buras said that Germany has finally acted as though Europe really had passed a 'Zeitenwende' – or 'turning point' – as described by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, just three days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although the invasion jolted Germany, 'only the Trump shock made them take this really fundamental decision of suspending the debt brake,' said Buras. 'This is the real, proper Zeitenwende.' In neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron – who has long called for European 'strategic autonomy' from the US – has said he is considering extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, already ostensibly sheltered by American bombs. Macron's comments earlier this month came after Merz advocated for talks with France and the United Kingdom – Europe's two nuclear powers – over extending their nuclear protection. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the idea, and even called for Poland to consider getting nuclear weapons itself. Meanwhile, Poland and Baltic states Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – all neighbors to Russia – have pulled out of the 1997 Ottawa treaty on landmines, long considered a key milestone in the end to mass warfare. Lithuania has already announced the purchase of 85,000 landmines; Poland is eyeing producing 1 million domestically. Lithuania also withdrew from the international treaty against cluster munitions this month, becoming the first signatory ever to do so. Military conscription has also made a comeback on the continent. Denmark made women eligible for obligatory conscription from 2026 and lowered health requirements for some roles, as part of a bolstering of the country's armed forces. Poland has also announced plans for every adult male to undergo military training. Even famously neutral countries are reconsidering their positions. Amid discussions about how to keep the peace in Ukraine in the event of a settlement, the government in Ireland – a military minnow focused on peacekeeping operations – put forward legislation to allow troops to be deployed without UN approval, skirting a possible Russian (or American) veto. It's long been the uncomfortable – and often unspoken – truth in Europe that its protection from invasion was ultimately dependent on the American cavalry riding over the horizon. That support no longer looks so sure. The pivot goes beyond who will do the fighting to who will provide the arms. Some have begun to question future purchases of the astronomically expensive US-made F-35 jets that several European air forces had planned to acquire. Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo said his country was re-evaluating the expected purchases of the jets in preference for European alternatives over concerns of the US-controlled supply of spare parts. It's the first time such concerns were aired publicly at such a high level, especially in favor of jets that, on paper, don't offer the same capabilities. But, although Europe seems to have gotten the message, talk of a unified approach is premature. When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to spend billions more on defense, called 'ReArm Europe,' Spain and Italy balked. The plan has since been renamed 'Readiness 2030.' Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also ruled out sending Italian troops as part of a European contingent to keep the peace in Ukraine if a negotiated settlement – another key issue on which the continent is split. The rebranding indicates a dividing line in Europe: The further away from Russia a country is, the less likely it is to put guns before butter. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this month that 'our threat is not Russia bringing its troops across the Pyrenees.' He called on Brussels 'to take into account that the challenges we face in the southern neighborhood are a bit different to the ones that the eastern flank faces.' Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's former foreign minister, told CNN he was 'upset' by the Spanish statements, and that a recent trip to Kyiv – where air raid sirens blast most nights – made it all too easy to imagine similar scenes occurring in Vilnius in the future. 'The further west you go, the more difficult it is to imagine that sort of thing. All the problems, all the decisions, they're relative,' Landsbergis said. Although this geographical split could deepen divisions, Buras, of the ECFR, said total European unity would always be 'an illusion.' 'What really matters is what the key countries do,' he said, pointing to Germany, France, the UK and Poland. 'I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I think we are on the right track now.' Asked whether March would be remembered as the month Europe woke up, Buras said: 'Yes, we have woken up – but now we need to get dressed.'
CNN
30-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
‘PATHETIC' Europe may finally be waking up from its military slumber
It was a televised ambush that many in Europe hope will stop a war. Donald Trump's dressing-down of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression. Reeling, perhaps even fearful, Europe may have finally come to its senses over its self-defense needs in the era of Trump. 'It is as if Roosevelt welcomed Churchill (to the White House) and started bullying him,' European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann told CNN. In a month when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Europe 'PATHETIC' for 'free-loading' on defense in a group chat with administration officials (which inadvertently included a journalist for The Atlantic), the continent has been shattering decades-old taboos on defense. Policies are on the table that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago. The biggest change came in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. After the federal election, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz won a vote in parliament to scrap Germany's constitutional 'debt brake' – a mechanism to limit government borrowing. In principle, the law change allows for unlimited spending on defense and security. Experts expect the move to unlock as much as €600 billion ($652 billion) in Germany over the next decade. 'This is a game-changer in Europe, because Germany was the laggard – especially among the big countries – when it comes to defense,' Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank, told CNN. In getting over its phobia of debt, Buras said that Germany has finally acted as though Europe really had passed a 'Zeitenwende' – or 'turning point' – as described by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, just three days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although the invasion jolted Germany, 'only the Trump shock made them take this really fundamental decision of suspending the debt brake,' said Buras. 'This is the real, proper Zeitenwende.' In neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron – who has long called for European 'strategic autonomy' from the US – has said he is considering extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, already ostensibly sheltered by American bombs. Macron's comments earlier this month came after Merz advocated for talks with France and the United Kingdom – Europe's two nuclear powers – over extending their nuclear protection. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the idea, and even called for Poland to consider getting nuclear weapons itself. Meanwhile, Poland and fellow Baltic states Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – all neighbors to Russia – have pulled out of the 1997 Ottawa treaty on landmines, long considered a key milestone in the end to mass warfare. Lithuania has already announced the purchase of 85,000 landmines;, Poland is eyeing producing 1 million domestically. Lithuania also withdrew from the international treaty against cluster munitions this month, becoming the first signatory ever to do so. Military conscription has also made a comeback on the continent. Denmark made women eligible for obligatory conscription from 2026 and lowered health requirements for some roles, as part of a bolstering of the country's armed forces. Poland has also announced plans for every adult male to undergo military training. Even famously neutral countries are reconsidering their positions. Amid discussions about how to keep the peace in Ukraine in the event of a settlement, the government in Ireland – a military minnow focused on peacekeeping operations – put forward legislation to allow troops to be deployed without UN approval, skirting a possible Russian (or American) veto. It's long been the uncomfortable – and often unspoken – truth in Europe that its protection from invasion was ultimately dependent on the American cavalry riding over the horizon. That support no longer looks so sure. The pivot goes beyond who will do the fighting to who will provide the arms. Some have begun to question future purchases of the astronomically expensive US-made F-35 jets that several European air forces had planned to acquire. Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo said his country was re-evaluating the expected purchases of the jets in preference for European alternatives over concerns of the US-controlled supply of spare parts. It's the first time such concerns were aired publicly at such a high level, especially in favor of jets that, on paper, don't offer the same capabilities. But, although Europe seems to have gotten the message, talk of a unified approach is premature. When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to spend billions more on defense, called 'ReArm Europe,' Spain and Italy balked. The plan has since been renamed 'Readiness 2030.' Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also ruled out sending Italian troops as part of a European contingent to keep the peace in Ukraine if a negotiated settlement – another key issue on which the continent is split. The rebranding indicates a dividing line in Europe: The further away from Russia a country is, the less likely it is to put guns before butter. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this month that 'our threat is not Russia bringing its troops across the Pyrenees.' He called on Brussels 'to take into account that the challenges we face in the southern neighborhood are a bit different to the ones that the eastern flank faces.' Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's former foreign minister, told CNN he was 'upset' by the Spanish statements, and that a recent trip to Kyiv – where air raid sirens blast most nights – made it all too easy to imagine similar scenes occurring in Vilnius in the future. 'The further west you go, the more difficult it is to imagine that sort of thing. All the problems, all the decisions, they're relative,' Landsbergis said. Although this geographical split could deepen divisions, Buras, of the ECFR, said total European unity would always be 'an illusion.' 'What really matters is what the key countries do,' he said, pointing to Germany, France, the UK and Poland. 'I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I think we are on the right track now.' Asked whether March would be remembered as the month Europe woke up, Buras said: 'Yes, we have woken up – but now we need to get dressed.'
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘PATHETIC' Europe may finally be waking up from its military slumber
It was a televised ambush that many in Europe hope will stop a war. Donald Trump's dressing-down of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression. Reeling, perhaps even fearful, Europe may have finally come to its senses over its self-defense needs in the era of Trump. 'It is as if Roosevelt welcomed Churchill (to the White House) and started bullying him,' European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann told CNN. In a month when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Europe 'PATHETIC' for 'free-loading' on defense in a group chat with administration officials (which inadvertently included a journalist for The Atlantic), the continent has been shattering decades-old taboos on defense. Policies are on the table that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago. The biggest change came in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. After the federal election, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz won a vote in parliament to scrap Germany's constitutional 'debt brake' – a mechanism to limit government borrowing. In principle, the law change allows for unlimited spending on defense and security. Experts expect the move to unlock as much as €600 billion ($652 billion) in Germany over the next decade. 'This is a game-changer in Europe, because Germany was the laggard – especially among the big countries – when it comes to defense,' Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank, told CNN. In getting over its phobia of debt, Buras said that Germany has finally acted as though Europe really had passed a 'Zeitenwende' – or 'turning point' – as described by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, just three days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although the invasion jolted Germany, 'only the Trump shock made them take this really fundamental decision of suspending the debt brake,' said Buras. 'This is the real, proper Zeitenwende.' In neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron – who has long called for European 'strategic autonomy' from the US – has said he is considering extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, already ostensibly sheltered by American bombs. Macron's comments earlier this month came after Merz advocated for talks with France and the United Kingdom – Europe's two nuclear powers – over extending their nuclear protection. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the idea, and even called for Poland to consider getting nuclear weapons itself. Meanwhile, Poland and fellow Baltic states Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – all neighbors to Russia – have pulled out of the 1997 Ottawa treaty on landmines, long considered a key milestone in the end to mass warfare. Lithuania has already announced the purchase of 85,000 landmines;, Poland is eyeing producing 1 million domestically. Lithuania also withdrew from the international treaty against cluster munitions this month, becoming the first signatory ever to do so. Military conscription has also made a comeback on the continent. Denmark made women eligible for obligatory conscription from 2026 and lowered health requirements for some roles, as part of a bolstering of the country's armed forces. Poland has also announced plans for every adult male to undergo military training. Even famously neutral countries are reconsidering their positions. Amid discussions about how to keep the peace in Ukraine in the event of a settlement, the government in Ireland – a military minnow focused on peacekeeping operations – put forward legislation to allow troops to be deployed without UN approval, skirting a possible Russian (or American) veto. It's long been the uncomfortable – and often unspoken – truth in Europe that its protection from invasion was ultimately dependent on the American cavalry riding over the horizon. That support no longer looks so sure. The pivot goes beyond who will do the fighting to who will provide the arms. Some have begun to question future purchases of the astronomically expensive US-made F-35 jets that several European air forces had planned to acquire. Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo said his country was re-evaluating the expected purchases of the jets in preference for European alternatives over concerns of the US-controlled supply of spare parts. It's the first time such concerns were aired publicly at such a high level, especially in favor of jets that, on paper, don't offer the same capabilities. But, although Europe seems to have gotten the message, talk of a unified approach is premature. When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to spend billions more on defense, called 'ReArm Europe,' Spain and Italy balked. The plan has since been renamed 'Readiness 2030.' Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also ruled out sending Italian troops as part of a European contingent to keep the peace in Ukraine if a negotiated settlement – another key issue on which the continent is split. The rebranding indicates a dividing line in Europe: The further away from Russia a country is, the less likely it is to put guns before butter. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this month that 'our threat is not Russia bringing its troops across the Pyrenees.' He called on Brussels 'to take into account that the challenges we face in the southern neighborhood are a bit different to the ones that the eastern flank faces.' Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's former foreign minister, told CNN he was 'upset' by the Spanish statements, and that a recent trip to Kyiv – where air raid sirens blast most nights – made it all too easy to imagine similar scenes occurring in Vilnius in the future. 'The further west you go, the more difficult it is to imagine that sort of thing. All the problems, all the decisions, they're relative,' Landsbergis said. Although this geographical split could deepen divisions, Buras, of the ECFR, said total European unity would always be 'an illusion.' 'What really matters is what the key countries do,' he said, pointing to Germany, France, the UK and Poland. 'I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I think we are on the right track now.' Asked whether March would be remembered as the month Europe woke up, Buras said: 'Yes, we have woken up – but now we need to get dressed.'
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘PATHETIC' Europe may finally be waking up from its military slumber
It was a televised ambush that many in Europe hope will stop a war. Donald Trump's dressing-down of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression. Reeling, perhaps even fearful, Europe may have finally come to its senses over its self-defense needs in the era of Trump. 'It is as if Roosevelt welcomed Churchill (to the White House) and started bullying him,' European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann told CNN. In a month when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Europe 'PATHETIC' for 'free-loading' on defense in a group chat with administration officials (which inadvertently included a journalist for The Atlantic), the continent has been shattering decades-old taboos on defense. Policies are on the table that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago. The biggest change came in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. After the federal election, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz won a vote in parliament to scrap Germany's constitutional 'debt brake' – a mechanism to limit government borrowing. In principle, the law change allows for unlimited spending on defense and security. Experts expect the move to unlock as much as €600 billion ($652 billion) in Germany over the next decade. 'This is a game-changer in Europe, because Germany was the laggard – especially among the big countries – when it comes to defense,' Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank, told CNN. In getting over its phobia of debt, Buras said that Germany has finally acted as though Europe really had passed a 'Zeitenwende' – or 'turning point' – as described by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, just three days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although the invasion jolted Germany, 'only the Trump shock made them take this really fundamental decision of suspending the debt brake,' said Buras. 'This is the real, proper Zeitenwende.' In neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron – who has long called for European 'strategic autonomy' from the US – has said he is considering extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, already ostensibly sheltered by American bombs. Macron's comments earlier this month came after Merz advocated for talks with France and the United Kingdom – Europe's two nuclear powers – over extending their nuclear protection. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the idea, and even called for Poland to consider getting nuclear weapons itself. Meanwhile, Poland and fellow Baltic states Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – all neighbors to Russia – have pulled out of the 1997 Ottawa treaty on landmines, long considered a key milestone in the end to mass warfare. Lithuania has already announced the purchase of 85,000 landmines;, Poland is eyeing producing 1 million domestically. Lithuania also withdrew from the international treaty against cluster munitions this month, becoming the first signatory ever to do so. Military conscription has also made a comeback on the continent. Denmark made women eligible for obligatory conscription from 2026 and lowered health requirements for some roles, as part of a bolstering of the country's armed forces. Poland has also announced plans for every adult male to undergo military training. Even famously neutral countries are reconsidering their positions. Amid discussions about how to keep the peace in Ukraine in the event of a settlement, the government in Ireland – a military minnow focused on peacekeeping operations – put forward legislation to allow troops to be deployed without UN approval, skirting a possible Russian (or American) veto. It's long been the uncomfortable – and often unspoken – truth in Europe that its protection from invasion was ultimately dependent on the American cavalry riding over the horizon. That support no longer looks so sure. The pivot goes beyond who will do the fighting to who will provide the arms. Some have begun to question future purchases of the astronomically expensive US-made F-35 jets that several European air forces had planned to acquire. Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo said his country was re-evaluating the expected purchases of the jets in preference for European alternatives over concerns of the US-controlled supply of spare parts. It's the first time such concerns were aired publicly at such a high level, especially in favor of jets that, on paper, don't offer the same capabilities. But, although Europe seems to have gotten the message, talk of a unified approach is premature. When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to spend billions more on defense, called 'ReArm Europe,' Spain and Italy balked. The plan has since been renamed 'Readiness 2030.' Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also ruled out sending Italian troops as part of a European contingent to keep the peace in Ukraine if a negotiated settlement – another key issue on which the continent is split. The rebranding indicates a dividing line in Europe: The further away from Russia a country is, the less likely it is to put guns before butter. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this month that 'our threat is not Russia bringing its troops across the Pyrenees.' He called on Brussels 'to take into account that the challenges we face in the southern neighborhood are a bit different to the ones that the eastern flank faces.' Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's former foreign minister, told CNN he was 'upset' by the Spanish statements, and that a recent trip to Kyiv – where air raid sirens blast most nights – made it all too easy to imagine similar scenes occurring in Vilnius in the future. 'The further west you go, the more difficult it is to imagine that sort of thing. All the problems, all the decisions, they're relative,' Landsbergis said. Although this geographical split could deepen divisions, Buras, of the ECFR, said total European unity would always be 'an illusion.' 'What really matters is what the key countries do,' he said, pointing to Germany, France, the UK and Poland. 'I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I think we are on the right track now.' Asked whether March would be remembered as the month Europe woke up, Buras said: 'Yes, we have woken up – but now we need to get dressed.'
