Enlarged and in charge: Why the EU needs a new approach to accession
The EU’s enlargement policy will only remain effective if it judiciously manages its relations with Western Balkans countries
Eastern Partnership
Partnership for Enlargement: A new way to integrate Ukraine and the EU’s eastern neighbourhood
Russia’s war on Ukraine means the EU must devise a new approach to its neighbourhood. It should establish a Partnership for Enlargement that offers Ukraine and other states concrete steps towards deeper integration.
Moldova next? How Europe should react to Russia’s implicit threat
Europeans should urgently increase Frontex assistance to Moldova, enhance intelligence cooperation, and consider positioning NATO units based in Romania closer to the country’s border
Echo of empire: Why Russia’s war on Ukraine troubles all post-Soviet countries
Russia’s war on Ukraine could have a heavy impact on other post-Soviet countries. Unless the EU helps these countries deal with the effects of the conflict, they could become increasingly dependent on the Kremlin.
Lost in the Dream: How the EU can end the political deadlock in Georgia
Georgia is caught in a vicious circle of polarisation and state capture. The EU should respond by explicitly linking support for the Georgian government to its implementation of concrete reforms and anticorruption initiatives.
Bonfire of sovereignty: Russian tanks in Belarus
Regardless of whether Russia launches another major offensive against Ukraine, Belarus’s territory will increasingly become a source of military threats to all its western neighbours – not just Ukraine
Moldovan lessons for the Ukraine conflict
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
The secret battlefield: How the EU can help Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine protect against Russian subversion
The EU should offer Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine a new intelligence and security compact to help strengthen their security against Russia
The young and the restless: Europe, Russia, and the next generation of diplomats in the Eastern Partnership
Young diplomats in Eastern Partnership countries are optimistic and pro-European. Many of them want the EU to become a bolder geopolitical actor.
Moldova’s gas deal with Russia: David tries to draw with Goliath
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
Publications
Partnership for Enlargement: A new way to integrate Ukraine and the EU’s eastern neighbourhood
Russia’s war on Ukraine means the EU must devise a new approach to its neighbourhood. It should establish a Partnership for Enlargement that offers Ukraine and other states concrete steps towards deeper integration.
The secret battlefield: How the EU can help Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine protect against Russian subversion
The EU should offer Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine a new intelligence and security compact to help strengthen their security against Russia
The young and the restless: Europe, Russia, and the next generation of diplomats in the Eastern Partnership
Young diplomats in Eastern Partnership countries are optimistic and pro-European. Many of them want the EU to become a bolder geopolitical actor.
Promoting European strategic sovereignty in the eastern neighbourhood
The EU’s tendency to shy away from security issues has helped make covert operations and military threats Russia’s tools of choice in the region
Lessons from Belarus: How the EU can support clean elections in Moldova and Georgia
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
A problem shared: Russia and the transformation of Europe’s eastern neighbourhood
Failure to strengthen Eastern Partnership states could strengthen Russia and allow authoritarianism to diffuse westward into the EU
Zelensky unchained: What Ukraine’s new political order means for its future
Introduction Volodymyrska Hill, Kyiv, on a June evening in 2019. Kyivans and tourists stroll along the riverside park’s newly relaid paths, many wending their way…
Guarding the guardians: Ukraine’s security and judicial reforms under Zelensky
The EU, US, and NATO must ensure that these services remain high in the minds of the Zelensky administration and of Rada members
Defender of the faith? How Ukraine’s Orthodox split threatens Russia
Introduction An average Westerner may well have overlooked the potentially seismic geopolitical event of 6 January 2019. On that snowy Sunday – Epiphany in western…
Partners for Life: Europe’s Unanswered ‘Eastern Question’
Dramatic change may not be on the cards, but the EU can and should shift to a ‘status quo plus’ approach that builds on existing activity
Articles
Enlarged and in charge: Why the EU needs a new approach to accession
The EU’s enlargement policy will only remain effective if it judiciously manages its relations with Western Balkans countries
Moldova next? How Europe should react to Russia’s implicit threat
Europeans should urgently increase Frontex assistance to Moldova, enhance intelligence cooperation, and consider positioning NATO units based in Romania closer to the country’s border
Echo of empire: Why Russia’s war on Ukraine troubles all post-Soviet countries
Russia’s war on Ukraine could have a heavy impact on other post-Soviet countries. Unless the EU helps these countries deal with the effects of the conflict, they could become increasingly dependent on the Kremlin.
Lost in the Dream: How the EU can end the political deadlock in Georgia
Georgia is caught in a vicious circle of polarisation and state capture. The EU should respond by explicitly linking support for the Georgian government to its implementation of concrete reforms and anticorruption initiatives.
Bonfire of sovereignty: Russian tanks in Belarus
Regardless of whether Russia launches another major offensive against Ukraine, Belarus’s territory will increasingly become a source of military threats to all its western neighbours – not just Ukraine
Moldovan lessons for the Ukraine conflict
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
Moldova’s gas deal with Russia: David tries to draw with Goliath
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
A digital agenda for the Eastern Partnership
By reforming the Eastern Partnership, the EU can capitalise on the huge opportunities for economic and social development created by digitalisation
Happy birthday, Eastern Partnership: Celebrations deferred, not cancelled
The EU’s success is mixed in generating reform among Eastern Partnership countries. But patience and self-confidence remain its best bet for the future.
Belarus and Armenia: How Russia handles uprisings
Russia’s goal in its neighbourhood is to regain influence, not to be surrounded by neutral, self-sufficient buffer states
Specials
Russia in the grey zones
What role does Russia play in the breakaway regions of Eastern Europe?
Life in the grey zones: Reports from Europe’s breakaway regions
Locked in a shadowy life between war and peace, “grey zones” now litter the map of Eastern Europe
Podcasts
Belarus’s brutal politics
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
Stranger in Moscow: Borrell’s unwelcome visit
What lessons can be drawn from Josep Borrell’s controversial visit to Moscow?
Reshuffling Russia’s leadership – old wines in new bottles?
It came as a surprise when Russia’s government resigned just hours after Putin’s announced his plans for a possible referendum of constitutional changes. Host Mark…
Europe’s Eastern Neighbourhood: Ukraine and Moldova
Standing in for regular host Mark Leonard, Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR, looks at Europe's Eastern neighbourhood and interaction with Russia. He is…
Ukraine Under President Zelensky
Podcast de notre débat du 21 mai « Ukraine Under President Zelensky » en présence de Victor Andruziv, directeur de l’Ukrainian Institute for…
Crimea at five
Jeremy Shapiro is standing in for the regular host Mark Leonard and discusses the current situation in Crimea and relations between Russia and Ukraine with…
The Sea of Azov: The newest front in the war in Ukraine?
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Wilson, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu about the Kerch Strait ship capture, what this means and how the international community…
Is Peace in Sight in Donbas?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses peacekeeping in Ukraine and the EU's Russia policy with ECFR's Russia expert, Kadri Liik and ECFR's Ukraine expert Andrew Wilson
Trouble on the fringes: how to stabilise Europe’s neighbourhood
ECFR's director Mark Leonard discusses the challenges that Europe faces both in its Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods with Nicu Popescu and Florence Daub, two Senior…
Voices on Ukraine, voices of Ukraine: Sergei Pronkin
ECFR’s head of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, speaks with Sergei Pronkin about why the Lenin monument in Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine was…
Events
12 May
An ambitious Eastern Partnership policy for a strong Europe
What policy changes do the EU and its member states need to envisage if the EU is to act more geopolitically and increase its influence in the Eastern neighbourhood?
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.
1 Oct
Gambit ukraiński: Nadzieje i zagrożenia prezydentury Zełenskiego
Zaproszenie na debatę publiczną na temat reform wewnętrznych na Ukrainie i jej relacjach z Unią Europejską
1 Oct
Ukraine’s great gamble: Hopes and pitfalls of Zelensky’s presidency
Invitation for the public debate on Ukrainian internal reforms and Kiev's relations with Europe
20 Jun
Moldova’s Political Crisis: What’s next?
Dicussion on Moldova's ongoing political crisis, the reasons behind the different actors involvement and the challenges the new government now faces
22 May
A religious war on the horizon?
Discussion about Russia-Ukraine relations after the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
21 May
Ukraine Under President Zelensky
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un débat en présence de Victor Andruziv, Jana Kobzova et modéré par Nicu Popescu, sur le thème suivant : « Ukraine Under President Zelensky »
14 Mar
5 years from the annexation of Crimea: the balance sheet for Russia, Ukraine and Europe
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un Black Coffee Morning en présence de Marie Dumoulin, d’Andrew Wilson et de Nicu Popescu
29 Jan
Ukraine 2027 – setting a new perspective?
5 years after the Maidan uprising we take a look at Ukraine's impressive progress. How can European partners uphold the momentum for reform and foster further EU integration of Ukraine?
15 Nov
Getting Out from In-Between
The European Council on Foreign Relations invites you to a discussion on the regional security order between Russia and the West
In the media
I think if there were a fast track [for Ukraine], then it would provoke some uproar from the western Balkan countries, who have been in the antechamber of this candidate status for a while now
The EU must not reject their commitment to Europe
Securing the existence of these sovereign states outside of an alliance […] is something the Europeans missed and did not think about
In Gustav Gressel’s opinion, the EU should have committed itself earlier and more decisively to the countries of the Eastern Partnership