Experts & Staff

Tara Varma

ECFR Alumni · Head, ECFR Paris
Senior Policy Fellow

Areas of expertise

French foreign policy; European security; politics and security in Asia

Languages

French, English, Spanish, Hindi

Biography

Tara Varma was a senior policy fellow and head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations until December 2022, where she followed French foreign policy and European and Asian security developments.

She looked particularly at current French defence and security proposals in the European framework. She was also interested in Asian security, and the role Europeans could play in it, notably in the Indo-Pacific region. Varma joined ECFR in January 2015 as a coordinator and then deputy head of the Paris office. She previously worked and lived in Shanghai, Delhi and Paris. She graduated from Sciences Po Lille and SOAS in London in International Relations, with a focus on Asian Politics and Indian and Chinese foreign policies.

Rocking the boat: The Macron method

The thread that runs through most of Macron’s speeches and declarations is European strategic sovereignty: he fears that Europe will be marginalised in a world in which authoritarian powers are rising. 

After the French veto: The new scramble for the Western Balkans

Without a credible path to EU membership, the Western Balkans could easily succumb to the lure of regional nationalism – and to generous Russian, Turkish, and Chinese offers in the EU’s own back yard

Emmanuel Macron’s very big idea on Russia

Negotiations with Russia over a new European security order would have huge – to many, alarming – implications for Ukraine, the EU, and the NATO alliance

Publications

Articles

Views from the capitals: Russia’s war on Ukraine

The conflict in Ukraine will change Europe forever. Experts from across ECFR’s network of offices describe the view of the war from Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia, and Warsaw.

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

Macron, Merkel, and Europe’s “moment of truth”

The French president has laid down the gauntlet by warning the European political project could end if it fails to embrace burden-sharing. One of two scenarios could now play out.  

Specials

Podcasts

Events

In the media