8 Dec
Germany’s leadership role in Europe’s green agenda
What role can Germany play in Europe’s green transition and where has it come thus far?
Experts & Staff
Susi Dennison
Senior Director for Strategy and Transformation
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
EU foreign policy; climate and energy; cohesion and politics in the EU; migration
Languages
English and French
Biography
Susi Dennison is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her topics of focus include strategy, politics and cohesion in European foreign policy; climate and energy, migration, and the toolkit for Europe as a global actor.
At ECFR, Dennison acts as chief of staff to the Director and leads the European Power programme as well as the organisational growth and transformation process. She has been with ECFR since 2010 in a range of roles including developing ECFR’s work with public opinion data on foreign policy, leading ECFR’s foreign policy scorecard project for five years, working on North Africa in the early years of the MENA programme, and exploring how the EU can pursue a values-based foreign policy which supports human rights and democracy in a contested world. Before joining ECFR, Dennison worked for Amnesty International and HM Treasury in the United Kingdom.
Tracking Europe’s energy security: Four lessons from the EU’s new energy deals
The EU and its member states have taken unprecedented steps to reduce their dependence on Russian energy resources. ECFR’s new EU Energy Deals Tracker documents Europeans’ agreements with new suppliers – and highlights four key lessons for policymakers
EU Energy Deals Tracker
The energy deals the EU and its member states are now making with third countries will shape Europeans’ ability to protect their energy security in the long term. The EU Energy Deals Tracker provides a comprehensive overview of these agreements, including their implications for the sustainable transition.
24 Nov
Stronger together: From piecemeal energy deals toward a sustainable European energy policy
In this virtual launch event, we will present ECFR’s brand-new online tool, the Energy Deal tracker, and discuss the need for a more coordinated European energy and climate strategy
31 Oct
A new climate for peace? How Europe can reconcile energy and climate security
Cinzia Bianco, Mats Engström and Anthony Dworkin were in conversation with Susi Dennison to hear how Europe can best meet its energy security interests all the while preserving its credibility as a climate superpower
Deals of a lifetime: Why the EU should include renewables in its response to the energy crisis
European leaders are realising that short-term fixes on gas supplies have long-term implications. They should include renewables in their deals with new suppliers to speed up the process of decarbonisation.
10 Oct
Green future: How can Spain help Europe keep its green transition goals on course through the energy crisis?
How can Madrid help in bringing other European member states on board in saving energy and investing in renewables?
State of the Union: How the energy crisis can strengthen EU unity
The European Commission president’s annual address has not pleased everybody – but its focus on energy reflects a deeper understanding of the nature of security today
Winter is coming: Europe’s energy transition and the war in Ukraine
Can Europe remain true to its climate agenda despite Russia’s war in Ukraine?
Own coal: Why Europe could lose its green transition
European leaders’ need to sanction Russia is pushing them to develop alternative sources of fuel. They should not lose sight of the role that clean energy could play in this.
Publications
Green peace: How Europe’s climate policy can survive the war in Ukraine
Russia’s war on Ukraine has weakened European governments’ commitment to EU climate goals. European leaders should intensify their efforts to build clean, sustainable energy security.
A certain idea of Europe: How the next French president can lead
The next French president should pursue a strong European foreign policy agenda to protect Europeans against the threats they are most concerned about
Climate of cooperation: How the EU can help deliver a green grand bargain
The bloc should reframe the international debate on energy security to focus on clean energy resources and efficiency, engaging in the market reforms needed to incentivise this shift
New energies: How the European Green Deal can save the EU’s relationship with Turkey
EU member states should help Turkey manage the impact of the new trade regulations the deal would bring in
Crisis of confidence: How Europeans see their place in the world
Public faith in EU institutions has declined due to their handling of the covid-19 pandemic. However, citizens still believe in the need for greater cooperation.
Europe’s green moment: How to meet the climate challenge
Member states are not divided into two diametrically opposed camps. This makes the implementation of the European Green Deal an intricate puzzle – yet achievable.
A new transatlantic bargain: An action plan for transformation, not restoration
The Trump years galvanised Europeans’ efforts to strengthen their own sovereignty; they now need to agree concrete offers they can make to the new administration
The transformative five: A new role for the frugal states after the EU recovery deal
The reputation of Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden as ‘frugal states’ does not reflect public sentiment in these countries
Crisis presidency: How Portuguese leadership can guide the EU into the post-covid era
The Portuguese EU presidency should handle issues in line with European voters’ perceptions of the new reality created by the coronavirus
Together in trauma: Europeans and the world after covid-19
A new survey shows that, after the onset of the covid-19 crisis, there has been a rise in public support for unified EU action to tackle global threats
Articles
Tracking Europe’s energy security: Four lessons from the EU’s new energy deals
The EU and its member states have taken unprecedented steps to reduce their dependence on Russian energy resources. ECFR’s new EU Energy Deals Tracker documents Europeans’ agreements with new suppliers – and highlights four key lessons for policymakers
Deals of a lifetime: Why the EU should include renewables in its response to the energy crisis
European leaders are realising that short-term fixes on gas supplies have long-term implications. They should include renewables in their deals with new suppliers to speed up the process of decarbonisation.
State of the Union: How the energy crisis can strengthen EU unity
The European Commission president’s annual address has not pleased everybody – but its focus on energy reflects a deeper understanding of the nature of security today
Own coal: Why Europe could lose its green transition
European leaders’ need to sanction Russia is pushing them to develop alternative sources of fuel. They should not lose sight of the role that clean energy could play in this.
Diplomatic power: The EU’s ambitious new energy strategy
The EU can protect its energy security in the long term by transforming its approach to green diplomacy
Ukraine, Europe, and the power of association: A new way to help aspiring EU states
A new compact could allow Ukraine, Balkans states and others to move closer to the EU and drive reform more powerfully than the current rigid rules
New year’s irresolution: France, nuclear power, and the EU’s energy transition
The roles of gas and nuclear power in the EU’s transitional energy mix present France with one of the first big fights of its EU presidency
Second acts: How Europe can renew the transatlantic partnership
This could be the moment to build a more balanced transatlantic relationship, with Europeans showing the US where we need it to engage, and how – rather than simply waiting for cues from Washington
The proof of the European Council pudding will be in the eating
EU leaders need to show that they are not only capable of reaching an agreement between themselves, but also of shaping the post-coronavirus world
Spain goes Eisenhower: Coronavirus, cohesion, and the return of MFF talks
The post-corona recovery threatens Europe’s cohesion, but Spain’s attempt to bridge the north-south divide is likely to fall short
Specials
EU Energy Deals Tracker
The energy deals the EU and its member states are now making with third countries will shape Europeans’ ability to protect their energy security in the long term. The EU Energy Deals Tracker provides a comprehensive overview of these agreements, including their implications for the sustainable transition.
European Sovereignty Index
The EU can overcome the new challenges it faces and can shape the global order. To achieve this, Europeans will need to improve their joint capacity to act.
What Europeans really want: Five myths debunked
New ECFR/YouGov research reveals huge fluidity in current voting intentions: 70 percent of Europeans certain to vote are yet to make their choice. Nearly 100m swing voters are up for grabs.
The 2019 European election: How anti-Europeans plan to wreck Europe and what can be done to stop it
Summary With anti-Europeans on their way to winning more than one-third of seats in the next European Parliament, the stakes in the May 2019 election…
The nightmare of the dark: The security fears that keep Europeans awake at night
Great power competition is increasingly shaping Europeans’ security environment, while other security threats are also on the rise, from terrorism and cyber attacks to climate change
New European Security Initiative
Edited by Ulrike Esther Franke, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil & Susi Dennison
Fear and loathing on the road to the US elections
European leaders are underestimating the danger that Trump presents to the transatlantic alliance and assuming too much continuity in the event of a Clinton presidency
The Future of Schengen
In the midst of a Schengen crisis, how do Europe's member states see the future of Europe's visa-free travel area?
Podcasts
Winter is coming: Europe’s energy transition and the war in Ukraine
Can Europe remain true to its climate agenda despite Russia’s war in Ukraine?
Peace versus Justice: The coming European split over the war in Ukraine
New ECFR research reveals that Europe’s remarkable unity in the early days of the war is under threat from an emerging split – between those who want peace as soon as possible and those who favour justice for Ukraine
The European Sovereignty Index #FactsThatMatter
How can the EU and member states close the gap between ambition and capability in their quest for European sovereignty?
Health of Nations: How Europe can fight future pandemics
This week, ECFR senior policy fellow, Susi Dennison, takes over the podcast to talk about international cooperation on global health
COP26 and Europe’s green grand bargain
Is the EU in a position to deliver a green grand bargain, or is its role as peripheral now as it was at COP15?
New Energies: The European Green Deal and the EU-Turkey relationship
How will the European Green Deal affect the EU’s relationship with Turkey?
What future for the transatlantic alliance?
How well does the transatlantic alliance still fit with the way that Europe and the United States now see their goals in foreign policy?
Multilateralism after covid-19
How can Europe adapt its strategies for multilateralism in this competitive world and what would they look like?
How Europeans see Biden’s America
How do Europeans assess the future of transatlantic relations?
Europe’s battle of narratives
How can Europe win the global battle of narratives during the covid-19 pandemic and a struggle for geopolitical influence?
Events
8 Dec
Germany’s leadership role in Europe’s green agenda
What role can Germany play in Europe’s green transition and where has it come thus far?
24 Nov
Stronger together: From piecemeal energy deals toward a sustainable European energy policy
In this virtual launch event, we will present ECFR’s brand-new online tool, the Energy Deal tracker, and discuss the need for a more coordinated European energy and climate strategy
31 Oct
A new climate for peace? How Europe can reconcile energy and climate security
Cinzia Bianco, Mats Engström and Anthony Dworkin were in conversation with Susi Dennison to hear how Europe can best meet its energy security interests all the while preserving its credibility as a climate superpower
10 Oct
Green future: How can Spain help Europe keep its green transition goals on course through the energy crisis?
How can Madrid help in bringing other European member states on board in saving energy and investing in renewables?
31 Mar
The battle for the Elysee
ECFR is collaborating with De Balie to discuss France’s political future and the impact of the election result on European integration and solidarity
10 Mar
A new era for Europe: Do Europeans trust France on Russia?
Our panel will discuss insights from new public opinion polling of 15,000 citizens across 12 EU member states, captured in the upcoming report by Susi Dennison and Tara Varma.
13 Jan
Delivering the European Green Deal: creating a climate of co-operation after COP26
Our experts will talk about European climate sovereignty, energy security and potential partnerships with the neighbourhood
7 Dec
The European Green Deal: A recipe for development or a source of conflict?
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…
18 Nov
After COP26 – How Europe can turn words into action
How can the EU and its member states take on this role and enact change to advance climate ambitions in a practical way?
9 Jun
Crisis of European confidence: How Europeans see their place in the world
Join a panel of political pundits to help disentangle the public mood ahead of Biden’s first overseas trip
In the media
Russia has at least succeeded in blocking the Western interpretation of the conflict in the global South
Susi Dennison’s analysis on the perceptions in the global South about the war in Ukraine
It has also laid bare the complexity of the bloc’s long-term shift away from its historical dependence on Russian energy
Susi Dennison’s analysis on new geopolitical tendencies from the ECFR poll
It is only by building up our own sustainable energy security that the EU can hope to create resilience to global players’ willingness to weaponise everything
Susi Dennison on the EU Energy Deals Tracker
The survey revealed that the West and the “rest of the world” agree that they want an end to the conflict, but there are many differences on the conditions they are willing to accept
Susi Dennison analyzes the results of the new ECFR survey and Europe’s positioning in today’s post-Western world
I think that the most radical parties will try to Europeanize issues they regard as very important, thus attempting to downgrade European standards in areas such as migration or the environment
Susi Dennison comments on the European elections to be held in 2024