Head, ECFR Warsaw
Senior Policy Fellow
Germany's EU and foreign policy; Poland in the EU; EU politics
Polish, German, English
Piotr Buras is the head of ECFR’s Warsaw office and a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His topics of focus include Germany’s EU and foreign policy, Poland in the EU, and EU politics.
Buras is a journalist, author and expert on German and European politics. Between 2008 and 2012 he worked as a columnist and Berlin correspondent for Gazeta Wyborcza, the biggest Polish daily newspaper. He started his professional career in the late 1990s at the Center for International Relations in Warsaw, one of the first Polish think-tanks. He continued his career at the Institute for German Studies at the University of Birmingham and at the University of Wroclaw (Poland). He was also a visiting fellow at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin. His recent book Moslems and the Other Germans. The Reinvention of the Berlin Republic was published in Polish in 2011.
Once Europe’s Ukraine champion, Poland now grapples with diplomatic sidelining, stemming from domestic infighting and war fatigue. However, the premier’s recovering popularity hints at a comeback
Serbia’s young people are making their dissatisfaction with Aleksandar Vucic’s corrupt government known. The EU should consider freezing Serbia’s accession negotiations and support the country’s return to democratic fundamentals
Mark Leonard welcomes Piotr Buras to unpack Poland’s knife-edge presidential election—and what the result means for Europe
The final round of the Polish presidential election of 1 June 2025 is a milestone for Poland and for Europe. The close race between pro-European Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, and Karol Nawrocki, backed by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, crystallizes two of the biggest challenges facing the European Union (EU) at the…
Mark Leonard welcomes Piotr Buras to unpack the Polish and Romanian elections and their implications for Europe’s liberal future
Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR experts to unpack how Donald Trump’s presidency is reshaping Europe’s domestic politics and foreign policy
Mark Leonard welcomes Piotr Buras to unpack a weekend of geopolitical developments and controversies on Europe’s defence and nuclear dependence on the US
Polityka Insight and ECFR invite you to join us for the livestream of this year’s Warsaw European Conversation. At Polityka Insight and ECFR, we believe there is an urgent need to engage in a critical conversation about the risks and trends shaping the European project. For this reason, we invite you to join forces, and participate in the…
Mark Leonard welcomes Searching for Deutschland co-hosts Jeremy Cliffe and Jana Puglierin, and ECFR colleagues Piotr Buras and Marie Dumoulin, to discuss the impact of Germany’s federal election on the country and beyond
The final episode of Searching for Deutschland—a special crossover with the World in 30 Minutes—sees experts from Berlin, London, Paris and Warsaw break down the…
With EU enlargement back on the agenda, democracy promotion in candidate countries is a key geopolitical interest for the bloc. The EU’s previous efforts to promote democracy in the Western Balkans and eastern neighbourhood may hold valuable lessons for the years ahead
A new power audit of member states’ positions on EU enlargement shows broad agreement that it is a geopolitical necessity, but major disagreements about how to prepare the EU. To make credible progress, EU member states need to agree on a roadmap that addresses their conflicting concerns at the European Council meeting in December
To signal their commitment to Ukraine, Europeans should agree a ‘long-war plan’ of assistance against Russian aggression. This would include a ‘security compact,’ security assurances, and economic and energy support
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
Paradoxically, to fulfil many Europeans’ expectations, Berlin will need to revise the principles of Merkelism that created this trust
Europe must improve its early warning systems, supply chain resilience, medical R&D, and cyber security and technology, to act decisively in future emergencies
Introduction For most Europeans, it is now obvious that the foreign policy of US President Donald Trump threatens the global liberal order. Trump’s hostility towards…
If Poland continues to drift away from the EU it will not only diminish its own influence, but also undermine the EU’s internal cohesion
Poland needs to reassert itself in Europe
More intergovernmentalism, more differentiation
Once Europe’s Ukraine champion, Poland now grapples with diplomatic sidelining, stemming from domestic infighting and war fatigue. However, the premier’s recovering popularity hints at a comeback
Serbia’s young people are making their dissatisfaction with Aleksandar Vucic’s corrupt government known. The EU should consider freezing Serbia’s accession negotiations and support the country’s return to democratic fundamentals
Poland has taken over presidency of the EU Council. Donald Tusk’s approach to Europe could not be less aligned with his predecessor, Viktor Orban; the new ideological struggle playing out in central Europe may define the continent’s future
Donald Tusk’s announcement of a temporary suspension of the right to asylum is primarily a PR move that will yield limited impact in Poland. But it may encourage the EU to rethink the unsustainable current asylum system
It is easier to defeat populists than to unravel the system they have built
Many Europeans fail to realise that EU enlargement is the only way to counter Russia and China – but this week, leaders must act
The 15 October election could lead to a historic experiment: if the opposition wins, it will launch an unprecedented attempt to overcome illiberalism
In the dispute over grain and arms deliveries, Poland’s government is squandering the chance to shift Europe’s centre of gravity to the east
It is time for the EU to burnish its foreign policy credentials by setting out concrete plans for the next round of enlargement
Under the guise of fighting “Russian influence”, the Polish government is preparing to attack and disqualify its opponents
Mark Leonard welcomes Piotr Buras to unpack Poland’s knife-edge presidential election—and what the result means for Europe
Mark Leonard welcomes Piotr Buras to unpack the Polish and Romanian elections and their implications for Europe’s liberal future
Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR experts to unpack how Donald Trump’s presidency is reshaping Europe’s domestic politics and foreign policy
Mark Leonard welcomes Piotr Buras to unpack a weekend of geopolitical developments and controversies on Europe’s defence and nuclear dependence on the US
Mark Leonard welcomes Searching for Deutschland co-hosts Jeremy Cliffe and Jana Puglierin, and ECFR colleagues Piotr Buras and Marie Dumoulin, to discuss the impact of Germany’s federal election on the country and beyond
The final episode of Searching for Deutschland—a special crossover with the World in 30 Minutes—sees experts from Berlin, London, Paris and Warsaw break down the…
Mark Leonard welcomes Joanna Bekker, Piotr Buras, and Marta Prochwicz Jazowska to discuss Poland’s presidency of the EU Council at a time of geopolitical uncertainty
Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, Piotr Buras, Anna Kuchenbecker, Maria Simeonova, and Arturo Varvelli to discuss what the outcome of the US election means for Europe
In this new episode, Vessela Tcherneva welcomes head of ECFR offices to discuss national implications of the EU elections
Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, Piotr Buras, Jana Puglierin, Maria Simeonova, José Ignacio Torreblanca, and Arturo Varvelli to discuss the European Parliament elections and the future of European politics
The final round of the Polish presidential election of 1 June 2025 is a milestone for Poland and for Europe. The close race between pro-European Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, and Karol Nawrocki, backed by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, crystallizes two of the biggest challenges facing the European Union (EU) at the…
Polityka Insight and ECFR invite you to join us for the livestream of this year’s Warsaw European Conversation. At Polityka Insight and ECFR, we believe there is an urgent need to engage in a critical conversation about the risks and trends shaping the European project. For this reason, we invite you to join forces, and participate in the…
On 4 December 2024 Polityka Insight and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) organised an event in Brussels focused on the priorities of the Polish EU Presidency. The event aimed to present and discuss Poland’s key objectives and plans for its EU Presidency term. It also served as a prelude to our annual conference,…
This webinar will discuss current revisions of the EU approach to enlargement policy and the security implications for Ukraine and the neighborhoods
Nell’attuale contesto internazionale, le relazioni dell’Europa con le potenze globali stanno cambiando rapidamente, e la loro evoluzione rappresenta un elemento di analisi ineludibile nel delineare la strategia di politica estera dell’UE
We will discuss Germany’s role in Europe and will reflect on how the new European order is viewed in Berlin
Agresja Rosji na Ukrainę zburzyła podstawy gospodarczych i strategicznych stosunków Unii Europejskiej z Rosją, które do tej pory w dużej mierze opierały się na handlu paliwami kopalnymi. Wojna pokazała jak bardzo zależność od Rosji ogranicza pole manewru Unii Europejski w polityce wobec Rosji i sprawiła, że głęboka redefinicja polityki energetycznej uznana została za palącą potrzebę
What instruments does the EU have at its disposal to address the challenges related to the crisis? And what are the lessons learned from the refugee crisis in 2015?
This panel is part of the annual Japan-Europe Core Group Warsaw 2022 on “The Future of Russia-China Relations – Implications for European and Japanese Foreign Policy
The green transition is vital to Europe’s future. Rebuilding economies to achieve climate neutrality is essential not only to avoid a catastrophe but also to maintain the state’s capacity to meet social and individual needs at a level that ensures a high quality of life. The need for action on climate protection is widely understood…
Piotr Buras on the implications of the Coalition of the Willing summit for European security cooperation
Piotr Buras on the opportunities for rapprochement between Germany and Poland through joint European rearmament efforts
Piotr Buras on the anti-Ukrainian sentiment rising in Poland fueled by online disinformation and domestic political shift to the right
Piotr Buras on the growing hostility towards Ukrainian immigrants in Polish society
Piotr Buras on the growing resentment against Ukrainians in Poland
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