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The paradox of intervention: How US strikes in Yemen empowered the Houthis
- Maysaa Shujaa Aldeen
Featured

Too clean to compete: Why strict standards keep Europeans out of African minerals
- Theophilus Acheampong, Sarah Logan
- Policy Brief
The EU’s high ESG standards are strangling investment in Africa’s mining sector. A phased, realistic approach could unlock much-needed resources

Pieces in motion: Rebalancing power in a new Levantine order
- Julien Barnes-Dacey, Ellie Geranmayeh, Hugh Lovatt
- Policy Brief
How Europe can use the current moment of flux in the Middle East to help stabilise Iraq, Lebanon and Syria

Anatomy of a chokepoint: Mapping power and conflict in the Red Sea
- Camille Lons
- Special
This ECFR project maps the Red Sea region as a nexus of conflict, regional rivalries and global power plays. To address the risks of this instability, Europeans need to develop a more comprehensive approach

MAGA goes global: Trump’s plan for Europe
- Célia Belin
- Policy Brief
Form exists in the frenzy of Donald Trump’s first months back in power. His foreign policy is his domestic agenda exported—and that is bad news for Europe
Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes

Truce or trap: Decoding the US-China trade pause
- Podcast
- Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes
Mark Leonard welcomes Janka Oertel to unpack the US-China trade de-escalation and its implications for Europe
Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes

Erdogan’s crackdown: Turkey and the fight for democracy
- Podcast
- Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes
Mark Leonard welcomes Aslı Aydıntaşbaş to unpack the recent political upheaval in Turkey and its broader geopolitical implications
Views from the Council

Reasons to be optimistic: European strengths in the global financial landscape
- Kalin Anev Janse
- Commentary
- View from the Council
- 3 minute read
Investors are demonstrating confidence in the European approach embodied in flagship initiatives from the EU

Untying the Hungarian knot: Why the EU might stop spoiling the spoiler state
- Tibor Dessewffy
- Commentary
- View from the Council
- 4 minute read
Orban’s latest defiance of EU values—the banning of Pride—comes as Hungary’s economy flails, the opposition gains, and Washington will no longer oppose. It could be the push the EU needs to figure out how to work around Budapest
In the Media - Council
Carl Bildt on Ukraine imposed sanctions on former president and opposition politician Petro Poroshenko
Mark Leonard, Ivan Krastev, and Timothy Garton Ash on ECFR’s latest global survey
Mark Leonard, Ivan Krastev, and Timothy Garton Ash on ECFR’s latest global survey
Mark Leonard, Timothy Garton Ash and Ivan Krastev on ECFR’s latest global survey on Trump’s return to the White House
Featured and flagship projects
Public opinion polling
Through polling in EU member states, ECFR’s analysis seeks to unlock shifting coalitions in Europe that favour a more internationally engaged union.

Transatlantic twilight: European public opinion and the long shadow of Trump
- Jana Puglierin, Arturo Varvelli, Pawel Zerka
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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Alone we stand: How Europe can counter hybrid threats in a post-transatlantic era
- Jonathan Nelson, Irene Sánchez
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
The US is retreating from its history of shared threat recognition and multilateral engagement with Europe. Now the EU must confront Russia’s intensifying hybrid aggression alone—while bolstering its own resilience

The paradox of intervention: How US strikes in Yemen empowered the Houthis
- Maysaa Shujaa Aldeen
- Commentary
- 6 minute read
The United States has now ended its campaign of airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi movement, having achieved little military success and instead playing into Houthi attempts to consolidate domestic control

North-south aligned: Why Italy should join the Three Seas Initiative
- Teresa Coratella
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
Giorgia Meloni needs to make Italy’s geopolitical role in Europe more definitive. Rome should welcome cross-border collaboration and greater regional integration through projects such as the Three Seas Initiative

Reasons to be optimistic: European strengths in the global financial landscape
- Kalin Anev Janse
- Commentary
- View from the Council
- 3 minute read
Investors are demonstrating confidence in the European approach embodied in flagship initiatives from the EU

Escalation in South Asia: Europe’s core interests amid crisis between India and Pakistan
- James Crabtree, Janka Oertel
- Policy Alert
- 2 minute read
This week, tensions between India and Pakistan have led to direct combat and fatalities. As the confrontation escalates, Europeans will likely have to take clear sides and re-assess the role of Chinese military technology in future wars—which could be much closer to home

The bully’s pulpit: Finding patterns in Trump’s use of military force
- Jeremy Shapiro
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Over two presidential terms, Donald Trump has used threats to intimidate his adversaries and mostly only employed force against his weaker victims. This pattern of bullying provides an insight into his future decision-making
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.
Julien Barnes-Dacey on US President Donald Trump’s first planned trip abroad to Saudi Arabia
The Policy Brief “Maga goes global: Trump’s plan for Europe” has been mentioned by the news outlet “Formiche”
Corrado Cok on the implications of Trump’s foreign policy for the Middle East and Saudi Arabia
More on Africa

React, rinse, repeat: How Europe can help break Somalia’s cycle of conflict
- Corrado Čok
- Policy Brief
Al-Shabab is regaining strength in Somalia amid obstacles with the latest peacekeeping mission—just as external partners seek to move away from costly interventions. But there is a path forward
Back from the brink: How European support could prevent another Ethiopia-Eritrea war
- Corrado Čok
- Commentary
- 6 minute read
The other counter-offensive: Ukraine’s diplomatic push in Africa
- Suzanne Tisserand
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
More on Asia

Multi-Pole-arity: How Poland can help Europe think big on China
- Alicja Bachulska
- Policy Brief
Beijing’s economic policies are threatening European competitiveness and economic security at a time when Europe cannot afford to be vulnerable. Poland can use its growing leadership role in the EU to help guide the bloc’s response
No time to drift: Trump, China, and the urgency of a stronger EU-Japan alignment
- Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp
- Commentary
- 5 minute read
Taiwan’s balancing act: Keeping the US in, China out, and domestic technology superior
- Camille Grand, Janka Oertel, Jana Puglierin
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
More on European Power

Strength in members: How to rally EU enlargement for defence
- Gustav Gressel, Nicu Popescu
- Policy Brief
The EU’s accession process ignores defence while NATO cannot cover all the candidates. Tailored defence cooperation roadmaps offer a promising path to protect Europe’s periphery without NATO membership
Questions of sovereignty: Canada’s relations with Europe after the general election
- Joanna Hosa
- Policy Alert
- 2 minute read
Chips on the menu: How the EU can get its act together on semiconductors
- Chiara Malaponti
- Commentary
- 3 minute read
More on Middle East and North Africa

The bear who came to tea: Russia, Libya and the Kremlin’s playbook for fragile states
- Tarek Megerisi
- Policy Brief
Russia’s re-entrenchment in Libya, Europe’s soft underbelly, offers profound lessons on how it exploits geopolitical instability—and how Europeans can push back
Israeli strikes have reignited Gaza—now Europeans must take action
- Hugh Lovatt, Muhammad Shehada
- Policy Alert
- 2 minute read
The road ahead: Six ways Europeans can urgently support a stable Syria
- Julien Barnes-Dacey
- Commentary
- 6 minute read
More on United States

The Orbanisation of America: Hungary’s lessons for Donald Trump
- Jeremy Shapiro, Zsuzsanna Végh
- Policy Brief
If Trump wins the US presidency, Republicans will likely adapt techniques refined in Viktor Orban’s Hungary as they return to power – with profound implications for both America and Europe
Cards on the table: Why the EU should negotiate Trump’s tariffs in three phases
- Tobias Gehrke
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
When culture war and trade war clash: Trump’s troubled alliance with Europe’s far right
- Jeremy Shapiro, Zsuzsanna Végh
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
More on Wider Europe

Bridging the Bosphorus: How Europe and Turkey can turn tiffs into tactics in the Black Sea
- Mustafa Aydin, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş
- Policy Brief
After years of bickering, Europe and Turkey need each other more than ever. A security partnership in the Black Sea could be the first step toward a pragmatic, if uneasy, alliance to contain Russia
No easy choices: How Europe can write a new chapter with Turkey
- Maria Simeonova
- Commentary
- 4 minute read
Why a Ukraine peacekeeping force could become a trap for Europe
- Kirill Shamiev
- Commentary
- 5 minute read