Geoeconomics

You break, you pay: Why the West should start confiscating frozen Russian assets now

Ukraine’s Western allies are discussing the possibility of confiscating frozen Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction. But if confiscated during the war, these funds could provide desperately needed – and stable – financial support for Kyiv’s war effort

Security recall: The risk of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe

The security challenge posed by Chinese electric vehicles is in many ways greater – and trickier to solve – than that of 5G networks. With such cars entering the European market at growing speed, policymakers need to move swiftly

The bigger picture: The case for an EU-Mercosur free trade deal

Deepening ties with Mercosur countries makes perfect sense as part of the EU’s de-risking efforts to diversify economic ties away from China. Further delays in signing a free trade deal would push Latin America closer to China’s orbit – for good

High-voltage trade: How Europe should fight the electric vehicle wars

The electric vehicle industry demonstrates the challenges of de-risking in practice. The EU needs more than tariffs if it wants to prevent a looming over-dependence on Chinese electric vehicles without strangling its own green ambitions

Balancing the books: Why the EU needs a European debt agency

European leaders have an opportunity to reform the EU’s fiscal rules at the European Council meeting in December, but they are currently divided by competing concerns over stability and growth. A European debt agency could achieve both of these, and provide the EU with the money it needs to address today’s geopolitical crises

What the EU list of critical technologies tells us about its de-risking plans

The recently unveiled EU list of critical technologies highlights the difficulties of de-risking for the bloc. To avoid seeing the process stall, the EU must get the private sector on board, admit that European tech supply chains are still distant, and acknowledge that de-risking is all about China