Rethink:Europe

Ten Foreign Policy Trends for 2017

Here are our ten trends (plus one bonus) that will define European foreign policy in 2017

The Netherlands: The EU’s hidden coalition champion

The experts surveyed by ECFR see the Netherlands as the most influential of the affluent smaller member states. Over 50 percent of the respondents rank the Netherlands as the most influential of the seven, and more than 75 percent rank it either first or second.

Rethink: Europe EU28 survey

Which are the most like-minded governments in the EU? Which governments have disappointed their peers? The Rethink: Europe EU28 survey provides answers

Spain: Southern Europe’s underrated player

In light of its demographic and economic weight and in view of its location at the crossroads of Europe and North Africa, Spain seems to be underrated in the current line-up of the large EU member states

The European border guard: New in name only?

The migrant crisis has spurred reforms to Europe’s border agency Frontex, but it can only be as strong as member states allow it to be

Poland: Europe’s unlikely influencer

Poland appears to be firmly anchored among the six large member states of the EU, seen as more important than Spain

The complex tale of EU cohesion

Josef Janning discusses the first set of results from ECFR’s EU Cohesion Monitor