The election of a new CDU party leader last weekend might be the first step towards a novel Black-Green coalition government – whose defence policy could be surprisingly visionary, if the parties are willing to work together
Angela Merkel has long resisted updating German defence policy for today’s challenges. Her successor will not be able to avoid the challenge forever
Party politics drove Poland’s threat to veto a wildly popular recovery fund that promises to have significant economic benefits for Polish voters
The EU recovery package proved controversial in Finland – but Europe-wide concerns about climate and security of supply offer ways for the country to re-engage at the highest levels
Many EU member states argue that President Emmanuel Macron does not consistently follow his own advice on the need for European defence cooperation. France should respond by taking the lead while involving its close partners
Following an uncompromisingly hard Brexit, all the new limitations and sources of friction in Britain’s economic, political, and human interactions with the EU will only now kick in
Italy and Portugal will follow a common, coordinated strategy on key policy areas as presidents of the G20 and the EU respectively
The UK will have to decide how involved it wants to be in EU defence efforts. It seems likely that the country’s aim will be to have flexible structures that allow it to plug into European foreign and defence policy where doing so is in its interests.
The United Kingdom’s strategy should be to take a more considered, sectoral approach to trade – thereby strengthening its own internal market and its future relationship with key EU member states
With Joe Biden about to enter the White House, London could need to display ambition on climate issues, or face being left behind by Washington and Brussels if they identified this policy area as a vehicle for rapprochement
