The Wider Europe programme aims to help the EU become a stronger geopolitical actor in its eastern neighbourhood. To achieve this goal, the programme supports EU decision-makers’ work on a unified and coherent policy vis-à-vis Russia, and develops consistent strategies to defend the EU’s interests and values in the Wider Europe region. The programme focuses on post-Soviet states, the Western Balkans, and Turkey.
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.
Europeans have found India’s position on the Ukraine war frustrating. But, although it is dependent on Russia for its arms, and has huge worries about China, India is actually moving inexorably closer to the West.
China is building up its influence in the Western Balkans through projects focused on everything from energy and infrastructure to culture, education, and media. If the European Union is to achieve its geopolitical goals in the region, it will need to understand the nature of competition with Beijing in all these areas.
The EU’s enlargement policy will only remain effective if it judiciously manages its relations with Western Balkans countries
Fareed Zakaria discusses the political, geopolitical, and geo-economic changes to the world order after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is effectively ‘demodernising’ Russia. Military victories for Moscow will make it inordinately harder for more democratic-minded, if not pro-Western, successors to restore Russia to the international community.
Mark Leonard will launch his newly released paperback edition of his book – The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict (Penguin) with a brand-new essay on the war in Ukraine and its implications for geopolitics
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Most Europeans now support Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Yet the union’s energy, economic, and security policies will need to address public fears if it is to sustain this support.
No hating any time – except between Facebook and Moscow? Who governs hate online speech sheds light on the long way to go to recreating the internet as a global commons
Lo European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) e Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo organizzano a Torino una nuova edizione de Il Circolo dell’ECFR sulla visione dei cittadini europei su pandemia e guerra in Ucraina
Japan has clearly signalled that it will not stand on the sidelines of global crises. It is now committed to bold diplomacy and the protection of the rules-based international order.
In the wake of the EU’s latest set of sanctions, European leaders should work quickly to take control of the narrative around sanctions
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.
Europeans have found India’s position on the Ukraine war frustrating. But, although it is dependent on Russia for its arms, and has huge worries about China, India is actually moving inexorably closer to the West.
After decades of tension, Turkey and Armenia now feel it is in their interest to normalise their relationship – not least to promote trade and to balance against Russian influence
China is expanding its presence in Bulgaria through a strategy of engagement with state and non-state actors. This has concerning implications in areas such as technology transfer, critical infrastructure, and public procurement.
Europeans are united around three key ideas about the war in Ukraine. The crisis will likely test their readiness to defend the European security order.
The West does not have an opportunity to prompt a policy U-turn in Moscow that divides Russia and China. But it could give Russia space to hedge against China in key areas
The EU should offer Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine a new intelligence and security compact to help strengthen their security against Russia
Young diplomats in Eastern Partnership countries are optimistic and pro-European. Many of them want the EU to become a bolder geopolitical actor.
Russia’s capacity to carry out large-scale military operations against Black Sea states allows it to coerce and extort them
ECFR’s policy experts examine what the Taliban takeover means for countries and regions around the world: Europe, the US, the Middle East, Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and the Sahel
The EU’s enlargement policy will only remain effective if it judiciously manages its relations with Western Balkans countries
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is effectively ‘demodernising’ Russia. Military victories for Moscow will make it inordinately harder for more democratic-minded, if not pro-Western, successors to restore Russia to the international community.
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Most Europeans now support Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Yet the union’s energy, economic, and security policies will need to address public fears if it is to sustain this support.
No hating any time – except between Facebook and Moscow? Who governs hate online speech sheds light on the long way to go to recreating the internet as a global commons
Japan has clearly signalled that it will not stand on the sidelines of global crises. It is now committed to bold diplomacy and the protection of the rules-based international order.
In the wake of the EU’s latest set of sanctions, European leaders should work quickly to take control of the narrative around sanctions
Recent changes to Kazakhstan’s constitution seem to weaken the president’s powers. Yet there are reasons to fear they will be mere window dressing for the continuation of authoritarianism.
The EU’s values-led foreign policy and its stabilisation objectives in the Sahel are in tension with each other. Russia is now waiting to exploit that tension.
Recent military activity in Belarus, combined with Putin’s leverage over Lukashenka, suggests an ongoing threat of Belarusian troops joining hostilities in Ukraine
China is building up its influence in the Western Balkans through projects focused on everything from energy and infrastructure to culture, education, and media. If the European Union is to achieve its geopolitical goals in the region, it will need to understand the nature of competition with Beijing in all these areas.
What role does Russia play in the breakaway regions of Eastern Europe?
Locked in a shadowy life between war and peace, “grey zones” now litter the map of Eastern Europe
Following high level ministerial meetings on Ukraine, ECFR's Wider Europe team report on the implementation the Minsk agreement
Fareed Zakaria discusses the political, geopolitical, and geo-economic changes to the world order after Russia’s invasion of 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
What were this World Economic forum’s biggest themes? Which discussions on the Ukraine crisis were the most convincing?
How sustainable is European unity? And what scenarios of solidarity or division can be expected in the next few months?
On location at the Doha Forum 2022, Mark Leonard and his guests discuss Western energy sanctions on Russia and why is there a reluctance in the Gulf states and the West to cooperate on energy supplies
What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion?
How should Europe react to Russian loss or indeed victory in this war? And what are the possible ramifications for the West?
What kind of role did foreign policy play in the election campaigns before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what role is it playing now?
How is Russia’s attack on Ukraine perceived in China? Will Russia and China be joining forces in an ‘alliance of autocracies’? What does Russian and Chinese policymakers planning look like now – and what should Europeans do?
As the situation at the Ukrainian border escalates, Mark Leonard and his guests talk about the recent developments and the state of play at the ground
Mark Leonard will launch his newly released paperback edition of his book – The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict (Penguin) with a brand-new essay on the war in Ukraine and its implications for geopolitics
Lo European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) e Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo organizzano a Torino una nuova edizione de Il Circolo dell’ECFR sulla visione dei cittadini europei su pandemia e guerra in Ucraina
Conference on the war in Ukraine and its consequences on the international system
How to effectively separate the Belarusian society from the regime when taking sanctions measures? Will the independence of Belarus survive international isolation left alone with an expansionist Russia?
This event is part of the German Forum on Security Policy, organised by the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS).
Il conflitto in Ucraina ha confermato l’urgenza di un’azione congiunta europea su energia e clima
Gli europei richiedono maggiore cooperazione a lungo termine su diversi dossier, in particolare in materia di sicurezza e difesa
Софийският офис на Европейския съвет за външна политика има удоволствието да Ви покани на представянето на новия доклад на Владимир Шопов, „Да разцъфтят хиляди…
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?
Do any outside powers have any chance of bringing Russia and Ukraine closer to peace?
Candidate States – starting with Ukraine – should first of all gain access to European ‘four freedoms’ of movement (i.e., people, goods, services and capital).
Susi Dennison believes that a step-by-step approach to EU integration would be more feasible for candidate countries than a confederal Europe
Overall, the summit is meant to send a signal of strength, to show that Ukraine will not be left behind.”
By attacking Kiev, Putin cut ties with Brussels, causing Europeans’ disgust towards his country
If we always discuss the crisis, once it occurs and start the delivery programme only once the situation in Ukraine is urgent, we will always give the Russians the edge in the war, and they will use i
