
Annual Council Meeting 2018
The ECFR Annual Council Meeting is one of the leading conferences on Europe’s foreign policy. We follow the energy of the debate and this year…
The ECFR Annual Council Meeting is one of the leading conferences on Europe’s foreign policy. We follow the energy of the debate and this year…
Denmark’s decision to end its opt-out from EU defence shows that it is still possible to win referendums on closer European integration. Yet it does not signal a broader shift in the country’s EU policy.
Just days ahead of the G7, EU and NATO summits, ECFR’s Council Members – Europe’s leading decision-makers, opinion-shapers, and public intellectuals – gathered on 19-20 June in Berlin for the ECFR Annual Council Meeting
Finland has redefined its security interest, leading it inexorably towards NATO membership. If Sweden joins too, a significant new regional grouping within the alliance could emerge.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has underlined the importance of European sovereignty. The EU should now invest boldly in its military capabilities, cyber-defences, energy independence, and economic resilience.
The EU should not fall for Orban’s attempts to distance himself from Putin. The Hungarian leader may now present himself as a pillar of European unity but, fundamentally, he has not changed.
When EU member states meet in Versailles on 10 March, they should offer Ukraine a strong welcome through a political declaration that recognises its European future
Zelensky and his people are fighting for their lives to defend European values. They have earned the prospect of EU membership once this brutal war is over.
Global energy infrastructure is highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The EU should address this vulnerability as part of its defence against Russian aggression.
The EU should do far more to reduce its dependence on imports of energy and critical raw materials. This would help the union preserve its independence in an increasingly dangerous world.