Highlights
Featured
Brazil: Europe’s bridge to the global south
- Carla Hobbs, José Ignacio Torreblanca, Pawel Zerka
- Policy Brief
Brazil and Europe share many similarities: both seek autonomy amid escalating US-China tensions – while championing multilateralism and navigating democratic pressures for a values-based foreign policy. However, their potential for collaboration remains largely untapped
Up close and personnel: What Donald Trump’s administrative picks mean for US foreign policy and Europe
- Majda Ruge
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
Donald Trump is choosing the cabinet for his second administration. Who will oversee key foreign policy positions – and whether they are a ‘primacist’, ‘prioritiser’, or ‘restrainer’ – will determine America’s future global outreach
Dangerous manoeuvres: How Israel and Iran are preparing for Trump 2.0
- Julien Barnes-Dacey, Ellie Geranmayeh, Hugh Lovatt
- Commentary
- 6 minute read
As Donald Trump prepares for his second US presidency, Iranian and Israeli military manoeuvring during President Biden’s lame-duck period risks drawing the US into all-out war in the Middle East
Better firefighting: Readying Europe for an age between war and peace
- Laurence Boone, Nicu Popescu
- Policy Brief
Facing wars and crises, the EU can no longer rely on slow peacetime processes. It needs a plan for faster industrial and infrastructural adaptation
Upcoming events
Samba Steps: Understanding Brazil’s Global Role and What It Means for Europe
- Online
- ECFR Berlin, ECFR Madrid
Recent events
Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes
What Trump’s election means for Europe
- Podcast
- Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes
Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, Piotr Buras, Anna Kuchenbecker, Maria Simeonova, and Arturo Varvelli to discuss what the outcome of the US election means for Europe
ECFR on air
Saudi Arabia and Trump: What’s next for the Middle East
- Podcast
- ECFR on air
Ellie Geranmayeh welcomes Dr. Manal Radwan to talk about the impact of Donald Trump’s election for the wars in the Middle East
Views from the Council
Trump’s return is terrible news for Ukraine. Europe should step into the breach – but will it?
- Timothy Garton Ash
- Commentary
- View from the Council
- 4 minute read
With Germany’s government collapsing and Europeans so divided in their response to Trump, unity is essential yet elusive
The next five years: How strong economic and trade alliances can prepare the EU for a post-America world
- Arancha González Laya
- Commentary
- View from the Council
- 4 minute read
Regardless of who wins the US presidential election, the European Union must shape its own future by fostering resilience, refining trade policies, and strengthening global partnerships to navigate shifting geopolitical winds
In the Media - Council
Karolina Wigura on the German government’s decision to reimpose checks at its borders
Lea Ypi on British interest in the migrant pact struck between Italy and Albania
Daniela Schwarzer discusses lessons Draghi’s report on competitiveness holds for Germany
Gerald Knaus criticises plans to turn away refugees at the German border
Featured and flagship projects
Countdown to Trump
What would a Trump win mean for transatlantic relations? Would a Harris presidency mark another, different sort of turning point? What can – and should – a Europe with less US mean?
Defending Europe with less America
- Camille Grand
Re:Engage
This project helps the EU in refining its foreign policy, re-engaging neighbours post-Russia's invasion of Ukraine to bolster regional resilience and advance enlargement policies.
The interest of values: The EU’s democracy promotion in the Western Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood
- Piotr Buras, Marie Dumoulin, Tefta Kelmendi, Marlene Marx
Re:Order
Re:Order project explores emerging visions of the global order, as well as the interplay between economic might and geopolitical influence.
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Scholz’s populism playbook: Why Germany needs to tackle fringe-party influence to preserve EU unity
- Jule Kettelhoit-Lohmann
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Germany’s political chaos is giving populist fringe parties unprecedented influence over policymaking. As internal divisions deepen within the governing coalition, these parties are shaping the political discourse and threatening the country’s – and the EU’s – stability
Der Untergang: As Trump returns, Putin will reap the rewards of Europe’s inaction on Ukraine
- Gustav Gressel
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Reducing military assistance to Ukraine will put the country in such a precarious and unpredictable situation that Moscow will have even fewer incentives to come to the table
Carbon diplomacy: How Europe can steer China’s climate path
- Byford Tsang
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Beijing is poised to make a pivotal decision that will shape global climate action for decades to come and directly affect European climate safety
Recharge or regret: Why the EU must act decisively to secure Europe’s struggling battery industry
- Tobias Gehrke
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Northvolt’s near-collapse demonstrates why the EU needs an economic security doctrine to identify where in the battery supply chain Europe can create winners – and then go all-in for success. If Europe continues down the same path, its battery industry will hit a wall
Living in Trump’s world
- Mark Leonard
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
Faced with the threat that Donald Trump poses to Europe’s economic and military security, European leaders must avoid both panic and complacency. The best way to do that is to use the time between now and 20 January 2025, to agree on their common interests and work out how to defend them
Art of the deal: Four ways Europeans can find new trade partners in the Trump era
- Alberto Rizzi
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
Trump’s trade policy is likely to harm European trade with America. Decision-makers can start to mitigate this now
Our experts are available for media requests. Our work involves many issues relating to Europe and foreign policy, and our programmes focus on Africa, Asia, the Middle East & North Africa, and Wider Europe.
More on Africa
Material world: How Europe can compete with China in the race for Africa’s critical minerals
- Sarah Logan
- Policy Brief
The EU faces a massive uphill struggle to secure critical raw material supply chains – and its efforts may even be undermining the bloc’s de-risking objectives by indirectly helping Chinese companies
Three’s a crowd: Why Egypt’s and Somalia’s row with Ethiopia can embolden al-Shabaab
- Corrado ÄŒok
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Changing focus: How Europeans should respond to shifting Russia-Africa relations
- Maddalena Procopio
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
More on Asia
The idea of China
- Alicja Bachulska, Mark Leonard, Janka Oertel
- Book
China’s ideas could become the country’s next big export. The Idea of China examines Chinese thinking about global order, AI, demographic change, and more – and considers how these ideas could influence the world
Pyongyang’s power play: How the EU should respond to North Korean troops in Russia
- James Crabtree, Alexander Lipke
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
From Brussels with leverage: How the EU is recalibrating its China strategy
- Janka Oertel
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
More on European Power
Control-Alt-Deliver: A digital grand strategy for the European Union
- José Ignacio Torreblanca, Giorgos Verdi
- Policy Brief
The EU is falling behind the US and China in the digital realm. It urgently needs a new agenda combining innovation, security, and influence for an age of geopoliticised technology
Navigating a new America: Harris or Trump, Europeans need a collective US strategy
- Célia Belin
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
Beyond deterrence: How Zelensky’s victory plan can live up to its name
- Maryna Domushkina
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
More on Middle East and North Africa
Mending fences: Europe’s stake in the Saudi-Iran detente
- Julien Barnes-Dacey, Cinzia Bianco
- Policy Brief
Saudi-Iran diplomacy offers a rare path to prevent deepening conflict in the Middle East and support regional stability. Europeans should see this diplomacy as a chance to address their core interests, and not just as Iran’s attempt to bypass Western pressure
The point of no return: Why the EU must not send Syrians refugees back
- Julien Barnes-Dacey
- Policy Alert
- 2 minute read
Still free to choose: What Polisario’s legal win means for EU ties with Morocco and Western Sahara
- Hugh Lovatt
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
More on United States
Trump’s tinderbox: US politics and the next war in the Balkans
- Adnan Ćerimagić, Majda Ruge
- Policy Brief
Serbian revisionism is on the march and would be greatly strengthened by a Trump win. The EU must prepare a deterrence plan — and take greater responsibility for Western Balkan security
The US election, Ukraine, and the meaning of peace
- Leo Litra
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
Navigating a new America: Harris or Trump, Europeans need a collective US strategy
- Célia Belin
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
More on Wider Europe
The interest of values: The EU’s democracy promotion in the Western Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood
- Piotr Buras, Marie Dumoulin, Tefta Kelmendi, Marlene Marx
- Policy Brief
With EU enlargement back on the agenda, democracy promotion in candidate countries is a key geopolitical interest for the bloc. The EU’s previous efforts to promote democracy in the Western Balkans and eastern neighbourhood may hold valuable lessons for the years ahead
Pyongyang’s power play: How the EU should respond to North Korean troops in Russia
- James Crabtree, Alexander Lipke
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
The US election, Ukraine, and the meaning of peace
- Leo Litra
- Commentary
- 4 minute read