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
EU instruments
Summer resolution: How to sustain public support for Ukraine
The holiday period could erode public interest in Ukraine. Europeans should recognise that their attitudes towards Russia’s war on the country have consequences.
The traveller’s guide to European economic sovereignty
Europeans have set out on a journey towards greater economic sovereignty. They will only reach their destination if they learn to navigate an interconnected world.
War and sovereignty: How the EU can enhance its ability to act
The EU has made insufficient progress in enhancing its sovereignty, particularly in security and defence. The union now needs to overcome internal differences to bolster its external ability to act.
Code of coercion: A European sanctions doctrine
The EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
Haters gonna hate in the privatised online world: Time to take it on
No hating any time – except between Facebook and Moscow? Who governs hate online speech sheds light on the long way to go to recreating the internet as a global commons
The EU’s sixth sanctions package: A battle of narratives
In the wake of the EU’s latest set of sanctions, European leaders should work quickly to take control of the narrative around sanctions
Closed-skies diplomacy: What the Western Balkans can do for the EU
The still-incomplete web of allies and institutions that the EU has woven in the Balkans in the last 30 years is not only strong but also valuable to its geopolitical struggle against Russia
All-out support: The West’s commitments to Ukraine
Ukraine’s Western partners now recognise that it can defeat Russia. Yet they need to provide the guarantees of long-term support that will make this a reality.
Turkey, NATO, and the Ukraine war: Why Erdogan’s grievances are about more than Sweden and Finland
The Turkish president is unlikely to veto Nordic membership of NATO – but Turkey’s bigger strategic worry is of a NATO-Russia conflict arising out of the war in Ukraine
Publications
Border games: Has Spain found an answer to the populist challenge on migration?
Spain, and Europe, need a new story about migration – it remains to be seen how the country will put this into practice
L’Europe qui protège: Conceiving the next European Union
The EU’s survival depends on protecting its citizens from the forces it has created
Influence by default: Europe’s impact on military security in East Asia
In the continued absence of a policy, European commercial actions in the armament sector could have a destabilising impact on Asian security
Bordering on crisis: Europe, Africa, and a new approach to crisis management
Taking early steps to tackle humanitarian crises is a chance to show the EU has not entirely lost a sense of strategic purpose and that it is able to meet moral
Crimintern: How the Kremlin uses Russia’s criminal networks in Europe
European states and institutions have to consider the challenges posed by Russian-based organised crime, and adopt measures to combat it
Europe’s new counter-terror wars
European counter-terror wars risk failing to prevent attacks while weakening international law
One hundred years of British solitude: Magical thinking about Brexit and security
A British exit from the EU would make it harder to fight crime and terrorism, reduce Britain’s ability to lead and influence its partners, and weaken NATO
Paying the price: The cost of Europe’s refugee crisis
Europe can more sustainably and cost-efficiently handle refugee arrivals by centralising management at a European level
Connectivity Wars
Why migration, finance and trade are the geo-economic battlegrounds of the future
After Paris: What price European defence?
Following France’s call for European solidarity under Article 42.7, European states should rekindle defence cooperation and aid France’s deployments in Africa
Articles
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
Summer resolution: How to sustain public support for Ukraine
The holiday period could erode public interest in Ukraine. Europeans should recognise that their attitudes towards Russia’s war on the country have consequences.
The traveller’s guide to European economic sovereignty
Europeans have set out on a journey towards greater economic sovereignty. They will only reach their destination if they learn to navigate an interconnected world.
War and sovereignty: How the EU can enhance its ability to act
The EU has made insufficient progress in enhancing its sovereignty, particularly in security and defence. The union now needs to overcome internal differences to bolster its external ability to act.
Code of coercion: A European sanctions doctrine
The EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
Haters gonna hate in the privatised online world: Time to take it on
No hating any time – except between Facebook and Moscow? Who governs hate online speech sheds light on the long way to go to recreating the internet as a global commons
The EU’s sixth sanctions package: A battle of narratives
In the wake of the EU’s latest set of sanctions, European leaders should work quickly to take control of the narrative around sanctions
Closed-skies diplomacy: What the Western Balkans can do for the EU
The still-incomplete web of allies and institutions that the EU has woven in the Balkans in the last 30 years is not only strong but also valuable to its geopolitical struggle against Russia
All-out support: The West’s commitments to Ukraine
Ukraine’s Western partners now recognise that it can defeat Russia. Yet they need to provide the guarantees of long-term support that will make this a reality.
Turkey, NATO, and the Ukraine war: Why Erdogan’s grievances are about more than Sweden and Finland
The Turkish president is unlikely to veto Nordic membership of NATO – but Turkey’s bigger strategic worry is of a NATO-Russia conflict arising out of the war in Ukraine
Specials
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?
Podcasts
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 EU’s budget and recovery fund deal – a historic moment for Europe?
The over 90-hour European Council summit in Brussels ended with a deal on a €1.82 trillion financial package. What does…
Solidarity and sovereignty: a “mission possible” for Germany’s EU Council Presidency?
In his opening remarks at our virtual Annual Council Meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, spoke about Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU…
Europe’s way out of the coronavirus crisis: from self-interest to solidarity?
The coronavirus crisis brought about financial hardship for the European Union, and many agree that a recovery fund would be needed to overcome it. In…
The EU recovery plan – rather a “Merkron” than a “Hamiltonian” moment?
The recent Franco-German proposal for an EU recovery fund sparked a lively debate on possible changes in EU’s nature, suggesting that the plan to raise…
Can Europe catch up in the digitalisation and innovation race?
During the Munich Strategy Forum 2019, host Mark Leonard sat down Toomas Ilves, the former president of Estonia aka the first smart country and “digital…
Three crises and an opportunity: Europe’s stake in multilateralism
The multilateral system faces three related crises of power, relevance, and legitimacy. This fraying consensus threatens the EU, which is committed to multilateralism. But the…
The crisis in Venezuela: What does Europe’s move mean?
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Federica Paddeu, and Sergey Sukhankin, about what risks the recognition of Juan…
Could EU entry bans protect human rights?
Anthony Dworkin speaks with Gerald Knaus about how the EU can protect human rights and prevent rising illiberalism. Bookshelf: Moral Tribes by Joshua…
The sanctions weapon
Mark Leonard speaks with Erica Moret and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about European sanctions policies, secondary sanctions and counter measures. The podcast was recorded on the…
Events
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
23 Jun
Anti-Coercion Instrument: How the EU can counter sanctions, boycotts and economic blackmailing
This event is the second webinar in a two-part series on current developments in the global use of economic coercion
29 Mar
Multilateralism after the pandemic: cooperation in a competitive world
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a changing international order into sharp focus, highlighting both our heightened interdependence and also the obstacles to global cooperation. As…
23 Mar
Anti-Coercion Instrument: How can Europe best protect itself from economic coercion?
What kind of countermeasures will protect Europe, keep markets open and support a functional global trade order?
3 Feb
The Geopolitics of the Green Deal
How to manage the geopolitical aspects of the European Green Deal and lead climate change efforts globally
28 Oct
Defending Europe’s economic sovereignty from coercion
The online launch of ECFR's report on how Europe can defend its economic sovereignty in the face of economic coercion
14 Oct
Antrieb im Auftrieb: Wie Paris und Berlin Europa stärker gestalten können
Diskussion zum ECFR Coalition Explorer 2020 und deutsch-französischen Beziehungen
29 Sep
ECFR x Intelligence² Germany – Debate: The European Green Deal is not fit for purpose
The European Commission has called the Green Deal, Europe’s “man on the moon” moment. But the stark reality is that it is impossible to solve the bio…
4 Mar
Sanctions on Russia: Profits, Pitfalls and Prospects
Experts present a report on the effectiveness and downfalls of the sanctions that were imposed on Russia by the European Union and the United States in the aftermath of the illegal annexation of Crimea.
14 May
Where next for Syria?
Discussion of recent developments in Syria and the implications for European policy toward the ongoing crisis.
In the media
Behind the reluctance to impose sanctions there is the unwillingness to harm Russia’s interests
The EU has a new instrument, thanks to which it is possible to link the allocation of EU funds and the non-violation of the principles of the rule of law in the member states
Maria Simeonova discusses the unprecedented actions by the European Commission for the systematic violation of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary
A sanctions doctrine would improve the European Union’s policymaking process and provide its global partners with clarity about the measures it would implement in certain conditions
Filip Medunic argues that the EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
Orbán will commit to the reforms demanded by the EU. This will allow member states to refrain from cutting Hungary’s €7.5 billion in funds
It’s a race against the clock