The geopolitical EU
Great power competition between China and the US is ramping up, the EU's neighbourhood is increasingly hostile and unstable and climate change is starting to get out of control. Donald Trump's presidency showed that the US might not always be Europe's reliable protector, even if the prospects look better under Joe Biden. In such an environment, the EU needs to reconsider how it acts on the global stage in order to protect its prosperity and security. It needs to develop the tools to face these challenges effectively, boosting its diplomacy, its defence capabilities, and its instruments for tackling internal security issues.
One step closer to a rupture: Europe, the US and Turkey
17 October 2019
Turkey’s relations with the EU and US are in freefall after its new offensive in northern Syria. The EU should do what it can to avoid a broader rupture between Ankara and the West.
Can Josep Borrell get EU foreign policy off the ground?
30 September 2019
The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, may struggle to co-ordinate the Union’s external activities in the face of rival European commissioners and unruly member-states.
Christine Lagarde must get ready to fight on two fronts
30 September 2019
As Christine Lagarde takes over the presidency of the ECB, she has little room to ease monetary policy. She will need to convince northern European fiscal policy-makers to help.
Choppy waters ahead for EU trade policy
30 September 2019
The strategic case for new EU free trade agreements is strong. But delivering them requires accommodating the European Parliament and winning over an inwardly focused agriculture lobby.
Should the EU tax imported CO2?
24 September 2019
An EU carbon border tax would be tricky to design, costly to implement and sure to provoke legal challenges. But if done properly there are reasons to think it could succeed.
Moving back the finishing line: The EU's progress on climate
23 September 2019
European leaders’ aim to go carbon neutral by 2050 will not happen without much tougher emissions curbs by 2030, and a sizeable increase in research and development funding.
Up in arms: Warring over Europe's arms export regime
10 September 2019
The European Union's poorly co-ordinated arms export policy is undermining Europe's foreign policy, credibility as a principled power and defence industry. The EU should take steps to move towards convergence.
The EU should seize the chance to stop Italy's eurosceptic drift
05 September 2019
Italy’s new coalition government between the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party is good news for Europe. But a resurgence of the League is likely unless Europe helps Italy in a visible manner.
Will the 'Servant of the People' be the master of Ukraine?
31 July 2019
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, now has a parliamentary majority behind him. The West can help to ensure he uses it to enact much-needed reforms.
The EU, the US and the Middle East Peace Process: Two-state solution – or dissolution?
11 July 2019
Jared Kushner's economic plan for the Palestinians will erode the two-state solution. By easing tensions, the EU can preserve it. But Europe can no longer afford to be passive.
A troubled partnership: The US and Europe in the Middle East
10 July 2019
Trump's policies towards the Middle East have led to a serious transatlantic rift, particularly over Iran. To secure its interests in the region, Europe will need to shake off its passivity.
Now is the worst time for 'global Britain'
27 June 2019
Global trade integration has stalled since the financial crisis, and is unlikely to pick up steam any time soon. In that context, plans for ‘global Britain’ will do little to offset the costs of Brexit.
Competition policy in the 21st century: Size isn't everything
04 June 2019
France and Germany have proposed laxer EU merger control to help European companies compete with Chinese firms. But competition has been waning within the EU, and stronger merger rules may be needed.
Germany should not run the ECB
23 May 2019
If Jens Weidmann became president of the European Central Bank (ECB), it would be more difficult to fight the next recession and prevent future crises.
The big European sort? The diverging fortunes of Europe's regions
08 May 2019
Over the last 15 years, graduate workers and high-value services and technology firms have been clustering together in Europe’s most successful cities. This process may widen Europe’s political fault-lines in the future.
Catch me if you can: The European Arrest Warrant and the end of mutual trust
01 April 2019
EU countries trust each other less than they used to, making them less willing to co-operate.
Appalled by strategic autonomy? Applaud it instead
22 March 2019
Strategic autonomy is a sign of the transatlantic relationship’s inevitable progression. Europeans and Americans need to manage the growing pains that will accompany Europe’s ambitions.
Tearing at Europe's core: Why France and Italy are at loggerheads
12 February 2019
Tensions between Italy and France are rising due to domestic politics in both countries, personal acrimony between Salvini, Di Maio and Macron, and policy differences.
How to combat Europe's economic slowdown
25 January 2019
Europe is experiencing an economic slowdown at an exceptionally bad time, but has the tools to fight it and should use them soon.
Putin's last term: Taking the long view
23 January 2019
Vladimir Putin has dominated the Russian political scene since 1999. But he is now in what should be his final term as president. He faces economic, social and foreign policy problems; and he has to decide what will happen at the end of his term of office.The performance of...