Orban’s integrity office: Everything is legal but nothing is democratic
Viktor Orban has had 12 years to learn how to circumvent democratic reforms. The European Commission should bide its time in assessing whether to suspend funding to Hungary.
Cohesion & Governance
Giorgia on my mind: The Italian election and European foreign policy
Mark Leonard and his guests discuss the implications of the new government in Rome and its foreign policy agenda, including Russia and China
The Draghi effect: Italy’s new-old national interest
The prospect of a Brothers of Italy-led government is causing worry in capitals across Europe. But the party is having to devise a foreign policy approach within the bounds of Europeanism and transatlanticism.
The three challenges for the West in the new cold war
Western states will only maintain their unity and resolve if they address major problems related to their external alliances, EU unity, and people power
State of the Union: How the energy crisis can strengthen EU unity
The European Commission president’s annual address has not pleased everybody – but its focus on energy reflects a deeper understanding of the nature of security today
Truss versus Sunak: The foreign policy of Britain’s next prime minister
The early debates between candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak lack any recognition of how Britain’s biggest foreign policy challenges relate to one another
Bulgaria’s European awakening
Bulgaria’s reformist government may have fallen, but this is a new era for the country. Policymakers should now build on Bulgarians’ growing sense of common purpose.
The cold man of Europe: Germany’s energy emergency
Decades of wilfully blind dependence on Russian gas have left Germany facing a bleak winter. German leaders could now have an opportunity to begin repairing the damage.
Bond villains: The European Central Bank’s new strategy
If the ECB is disciplined in its use of the recently announced Transmission Protection Instrument, this could turn out to be exactly what Europe needs
Whatever it breaks: Draghi’s downfall and the future of Italy
Draghi always knew that he could not depend on some members of his ruling coalition. Yet his legacy of leadership in the EU could survive his departure.
Publications
A certain idea of Europe: How the next French president can lead
The next French president should pursue a strong European foreign policy agenda to protect Europeans against the threats they are most concerned about
Europe’s invisible divides: How covid-19 is polarising European politics
Europe’s covid-19 experience has been a tale of two pandemics – and the differences in each story could haunt the continent for many years to come
Ambiguous alliance: Neutrality, opt-outs, and European defence
The EU’s work on its Strategic Compass should include debates on the special status states’ future role in European defence
Europe’s green moment: How to meet the climate challenge
Member states are not divided into two diametrically opposed camps. This makes the implementation of the European Green Deal an intricate puzzle – yet achievable.
The crisis that made the European Union: European cohesion in the age of covid
The pandemic poses a threat to European cohesion by increasing economic divides and undermining trust in the EU and national governments
Crisis presidency: How Portuguese leadership can guide the EU into the post-covid era
The Portuguese EU presidency should handle issues in line with European voters’ perceptions of the new reality created by the coronavirus
The Brexit parenthesis: Three ways the pandemic is changing UK politics
The shock of covid-19 in Britain may end the culture-wars politics set off by the Brexit referendum
The big engine that might: How France and Germany can build a geopolitical Europe
The EU Coalition Explorer survey reveals the importance of Germany and France within the EU, and the impact they can have when they cooperate with each other
In sickness and in health: European cooperation during the coronavirus crisis
ECFR research into how EU member states and institutions worked together at the height of covid-19 confirms Germany was the bloc’s undisputed crisis leader
Untapped potential: How new alliances can strengthen the EU
Fragmentation in the EU makes it increasingly difficult for member states to build coalitions. The EU Coalition Explorer reveals potential new groupings.
Articles
Orban’s integrity office: Everything is legal but nothing is democratic
Viktor Orban has had 12 years to learn how to circumvent democratic reforms. The European Commission should bide its time in assessing whether to suspend funding to Hungary.
The Draghi effect: Italy’s new-old national interest
The prospect of a Brothers of Italy-led government is causing worry in capitals across Europe. But the party is having to devise a foreign policy approach within the bounds of Europeanism and transatlanticism.
The three challenges for the West in the new cold war
Western states will only maintain their unity and resolve if they address major problems related to their external alliances, EU unity, and people power
State of the Union: How the energy crisis can strengthen EU unity
The European Commission president’s annual address has not pleased everybody – but its focus on energy reflects a deeper understanding of the nature of security today
Truss versus Sunak: The foreign policy of Britain’s next prime minister
The early debates between candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak lack any recognition of how Britain’s biggest foreign policy challenges relate to one another
Bulgaria’s European awakening
Bulgaria’s reformist government may have fallen, but this is a new era for the country. Policymakers should now build on Bulgarians’ growing sense of common purpose.
The cold man of Europe: Germany’s energy emergency
Decades of wilfully blind dependence on Russian gas have left Germany facing a bleak winter. German leaders could now have an opportunity to begin repairing the damage.
Bond villains: The European Central Bank’s new strategy
If the ECB is disciplined in its use of the recently announced Transmission Protection Instrument, this could turn out to be exactly what Europe needs
Whatever it breaks: Draghi’s downfall and the future of Italy
Draghi always knew that he could not depend on some members of his ruling coalition. Yet his legacy of leadership in the EU could survive his departure.
Staying power: How the EU can support NATO in eastern Europe
NATO should deter Russia by establishing a truly permanent presence in front-line states. The EU has a major role to play in this effort.
Specials
The European Sentiment Compass 2022
In the wake of pandemic and war, the Sentiment Compass assesses the changing expectations of the EU across its member states. It finds that EU should harness the power of culture and the free media to nurture a stronger European sentiment – helping it to address the major challenges facing the continent.
EU Cohesion Monitor
European cohesion is bouncing back after crisis years. The EU Cohesion Monitor presents new insights on cohesion as an underestimated source of strength and collective action in the EU.
EU Coalition Explorer
The Coalition Explorer illustrates the expert opinions of more than 800 respondents who work on European policy and creates a visual understanding of the views held by Europe’s professional political class
European Solidarity Tracker
The European Solidarity Tracker collects and displays instances of pan-European solidarity throughout the coronavirus crisis
The 2019 European election: How anti-Europeans plan to wreck Europe and what can be done to stop it
Summary With anti-Europeans on their way to winning more than one-third of seats in the next European Parliament, the stakes in the May 2019 election…
EU Cohesion Monitor 2019
European cohesion is bouncing back after crisis years. The EU Cohesion Monitor presents new insights on cohesion as an underestimated source of strength and collective action in the EU.
The future shape of Europe: How the EU can bend without breaking
A critical mass of countries agree on the need for more flexible cooperation, but what could it look like?
Connectivity wars
This essay introduces “Connectivity Wars“, an essay collection on why migration, finance and trade are the geo-economic battlegrounds of the future
Britain in Europe Renegotiation Scorecard
The scorecard assesses the support that components of the reform agenda enjoy in Europe’s capitals.
Podcasts
Giorgia on my mind: The Italian election and European foreign policy
Mark Leonard and his guests discuss the implications of the new government in Rome and its foreign policy agenda, including Russia and China
Peace versus Justice: The coming European split over the war in Ukraine
New ECFR research reveals that Europe’s remarkable unity in the early days of the war is under threat from an emerging split – between those who want peace as soon as possible and those who favour justice for Ukraine
European solidarity and the Russia-Ukraine war
How sustainable is European unity? And what scenarios of solidarity or division can be expected in the next few months?
The age of the strongman
What defines a strongman, and what varieties of this curious species exist? Are there any strongwomen? And when did the age of strongmen really begin?
A European Confederation: a common political platform for peace
How could a European Confederation aid greater cross-European integration? And is it a realistic alternative to the EU?
What a Le Pen presidency would mean for Europe and the world
How would a Le Pen presidency affect Europe and the world?
How Putin’s war is shaping France’s election
What kind of role did foreign policy play in the election campaigns before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what role is it playing now?
System failure: The causes of humanitarian crises
Humanitarian crises in places like Afghanistan, Yemen or Ethiopia are not only a reflection of internal turmoil – but mirror a much grander development: system failure
The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists | Session 4 with Anne-Marie Slaughter
Join us on this journey to a more therapeutic approach to international relations. The mini-series brings you five special episodes with guests including today’s Anne-Marie Slaughter, Marietje Schaake, and Dan Drezner.
Out of Order: the Polish Constitutional Court’s challenge to the European Union
What steps can the EU take to defend its legal order and protect the authority of the CJEU?
Events
4 May
United Europe, Divided World? The Ukraine crisis and beyond
Will new dependencies and partnerships develop in Europe and the world in the future? What role will international institutions play? Are we entering a post-American world?
31 Mar
The battle for the Elysee
ECFR is collaborating with De Balie to discuss France’s political future and the impact of the election result on European integration and solidarity
10 Mar
A new era for Europe: Do Europeans trust France on Russia?
Our panel will discuss insights from new public opinion polling of 15,000 citizens across 12 EU member states, captured in the upcoming report by Susi Dennison and Tara Varma.
21 Feb
Can Europe stand up to Chinese and Russian economic coercion?
The European Council on Foreign Relations in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU is delighted to invite you to a debate on the principles that should guide Europe’s quest for economic sovereignty
8 Feb
Japanese and EU Indo-Pacific policies after the German and Japanese elections
How will the new administrations in Germany and Japan impact the EU’s and Japanese Indo-Pacific strategy and China policy?
14 Dec
Traffic light coalition seen from the outside: what does Europe think?
What are the expectations of the coalition´s foreign and security policies? Will Germany’s ambitious climate policy spark mirroring across the bloc?
2 Dec
Resilient Recovery: Best practices from Romania, Poland, Greece and Bulgaria
The European Union has made efforts towards its vision of Europe as the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, as laid out in the #EuropeanGreenDeal. To…
12 Oct
THINKING BIG WITH Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard on the Age of Unpeace
What do China’s mask diplomacy, America’s sanctions on Iran, Russia’s election interference, Belarus’s migration policy, struggles over Huawei, Covid-19 and Climate change have in common?
27 Sep
German elections debriefing: results are in, what’s next?
Which coalition is likely? Who are the winners and losers, and likely candidates for main political jobs?
24 Sep
The Post-Merkel Era: Towards More or Less European Solidarity?
On this night at De Balie we will discuss Germany’s political future and the impact of the election result on European integration and solidarity
In the media
People will also be less patient because it will be a difficult winter
If the EU wants to live up to its geopolitical responsibility in the neighbourhood, it should invest more in the enlargement process rather than developing new summitry formats
Italian voters are always looking for something new, and Giorgia Meloni was able to capitalize on this trend
Alberto Rizzi warns that the Italian Brotherhood of Italy leader’s bid for “union of nations” could block progress on European integration