The covid-19 crisis has put European cohesion to the test. In Spring 2020, EU member states went their own ways by closing borders, keeping their medical equipment for themselves and not coordinating enough with their European counterparts. Since then, there has been significant progress, most notably on the economic recovery, but also in terms of healthcare […]
Read MoreAutor: Firma European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
The geopolitics of the European Green Deal
The European Green Deal will not only profoundly transform the economy but will also have deep geopolitical repercussions. It will affect geopolitics through its impact on the EU energy balance and global markets; on oil and gas-producing countries in the EU neighbourhood; on European energy security; and on global trade patterns, notably via the carbon border […]
Read MoreBosnia to war, to Dayton, and to its slow peace
The international community was unprepared for the conflicts that followed the dissolution of Yugoslavia. In particular, it neglected Bosnia. Europe was not enough to bring peace, the US was slow but eventually decisive, and Russia was a constructive actor. The war in Bosnia lasted years longer than it should have more because of the divisions between outside powers than those within the […]
Read MorePower surge: How the European Green Deal can succeed in Morocco and Tunisia
. North African countries such as Morocco and Tunisia can help Europe meet its carbon emissions targets and strengthen its position in the face of fierce competition from China for economic and political influence. By encouraging European investment in renewable energy, the European Green Deal can increase local workforce opportunities, promote development, and help stabilise migration, enhancing […]
Read MoreNew Publication Artificial divide: How Europe and America could clash over AI
Artificial intelligence is a rapidly advancing field that policymakers everywhere are struggling to keep up with. Calls for international, and particularly transatlantic cooperation are growing. In Europe, interest in strengthening “ethical” AI policy is particularly strong – including as a way of making Europe more attractive than other jurisdictions around the world. Close cooperation between Europe […]
Read MoreHow Europe can help prevent the spread of Ethiopia’s war – expert available for comment and interview
A month-long war in Ethiopia has killed thousands of people, sent refugees into Sudan, and stirred rivalries among Ethiopia’s ethnic groups. The proximate cause of the conflict is a tit-for-tat escalatory cycle between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which erupted into armed conflict on 4 November. Three weeks later […]
Read MoreA 6-point plan for a transatlantic bargain
Today the European Council on Foreign Relations published a statement signed by 30 of its Council members, among them former prime ministers, calling on European governments to offer an action plan for a transatlantic bargain to the US and its incoming administration. As leaders meet at the European Council this week, they urgently need to […]
Read MoreThe end of Oslo: A new European strategy on Israel-Palestine
A one-state reality of open-ended occupation and unequal rights continues to take hold in the Israel-Palestine conflict. This deteriorating trajectory is storing up deeper conflict on the ground, posing ever greater challenges to the EU’s vision for its near neighbourhood and relations with Israel, and storing up future instability. Amidst an accelerating negative trajectory on the ground, and an exhausted Oslo peace process, a viable two-state outcome […]
Read MoreViral vulnerability: How the pandemic is making democracy sick in the Western Balkans
By October 2020, countries in the Western Balkans had some of Europe’s highest levels of covid-19 cases per capita. Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were among the 15 most-affected states on the continent. The crisis has accentuated the countries’ existing vulnerabilities related to the rule of law and democratic governance. It has strengthened governments, weakened parliaments’ legislative and […]
Read MoreNew report: Europeans must take bold action to defend their sovereignty and protect their interests and values in a new age of geopolitical competition
A new report, authored by Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro, calls on EU leaders to strengthen Europe’s resilience in the face of increasing geo-political competition. A variety of states including Russia, China, and even at times the United States are instrumentalizing the connections of a globalised world for geopolitical and economic gain. The report identifies […]
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