Helen Pitt

And beyond Germany, how united are EU leaders on the way forward?

None of them, with the exception of Poland, are anywhere close to reaching the commitment that they've made to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.

You've got the Germans reintroducing conscriptions and then you've got nations like Spain suggesting that the only way forward is a European army, which is a very controversial thing, isn't it?

Do you think that that's something that's realistically on the table in the near or medium future?

Forgetting that the EU trades as a bloc.

Thanks so much for having me.

That was Deborah Cole, Germany correspondent for The Guardian.

You can read her great dispatch from Landstuhl at theguardian.com.

Before we go, I just wanted to tell you about a new video podcast that our New York office is launching.

It's called Stateside with Kai and Carter, and it's hosted by our colleagues Kai Wright and Carter Sherman.

Each week, they're going to be trying to make sense of some of the biggest stories happening right now.

The show will feature conversations with some of the smartest thinkers and reporters, not just from The Guardian, but from across the world.

It's launching on the 13th of May with episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

You can find it in full video on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

And that is all for today.

This episode was produced by Tom Glasser and Ned Carter-Miles and presented by me, Helen Pitt.

Sound design was by Brian McNamara and the executive producer was Hummer Khalili.

We'll be back in your feeds this afternoon with the latest.

A historic day for King Charles, sent to Washington to salvage the ever shakier special relationship.

There were jokes, there were digs.