Push back, contain, and engage: How the EU should approach relations with Russia
The bloc should reframe how it speaks of human rights and democracy, while developing closer security and military links with select neighbours
To remain relevant in the region, the European Union needs a coherent and consistent strategy to promote its interests and values together with the political will to follow this through. ECFR’s Wider Europe programme was launched in 2007 with the aim of fostering this process.
Featured
Useful enemies: How the Turkey-UAE rivalry is remaking the Middle East
Instead of using the UAE to push back against Turkey or vice versa, Europe should develop its own strategy on their rivalry
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
China’s formalised, seemingly nonchalant, attitude towards the Western Balkans masks a surprising nimbleness and strategic intent. In the past decade, the country has become the…
West wishes: Turkey’s growing relationship with Ukraine
As the Turkish president continues his delicate balancing act between the US and Russia, the crisis in Ukraine presents new opportunities for Ankara's transatlantic credentials
The Balkans non-paper and the dangers of Plan B
Only a firm framework of integration can bring long-term stability to the Balkans - this is as relevant today as it was in 2003, when EU leaders offered membership to all countries in the region
The EU’s Montenegro dilemma
Following a recent dispute over a $1 billion loan to Montenegro, the EU has an opportunity to take a more systematic approach to the growing Chinese presence in the Western Balkans
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.
Germany’s corruption scandals: How to limit authoritarian influence in the EU
Germany’s recent corruption scandals are as much about the health of democracy in Germany and the EU as they are simply questions of money
War of unreality: Why Russia is threatening to escalate the Ukraine conflict
European governments have yet to learn a key lesson from the war in Ukraine. The alternative reality the Kremlin lives in is becoming increasingly dangerous.
First aid: How Russia and the West can help Syrians in Idlib
A one-year extension to the current aid arrangements would be no one’s first choice – but would ensure civilians in Idlib continue to receive help
How the Turkey-UAE Rivalry is remaking the Middle East
How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?
The invisible battle for Russia’s future
There are homegrown democrats in Russia who do not automatically sympathise with the West. They could lead the country to change from the top.
Publications
Push back, contain, and engage: How the EU should approach relations with Russia
The bloc should reframe how it speaks of human rights and democracy, while developing closer security and military links with select neighbours
Useful enemies: How the Turkey-UAE rivalry is remaking the Middle East
Instead of using the UAE to push back against Turkey or vice versa, Europe should develop its own strategy on their rivalry
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
Bosnia to war, to Dayton, and to its slow peace
It will be difficult to sustain progress for Bosnia or the region without a credible and clear EU accession process
Russia’s relative resilience: Why Putin feels vindicated by the pandemic
Covid-19 has damaged Russia’s economy and President Vladimir Putin’s political agenda
Viral vulnerability: How the pandemic is making democracy sick in the Western Balkans
The covid-19 crisis has accentuated Western Balkans countries’ pre-existing vulnerabilities – but has not brought about a new political era in the region
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
Hostage state: How to free Bosnia from Dayton’s paralysing grip
Restoring independence to the judiciary and strengthening the rule of law are key to the country’s future stability and success
The best defence: Why the EU should forge security compacts with its eastern neighbours
If the EU is to be more geopolitically influential in its own neighbourhood, it needs to start developing strategic security partnerships with key neighbours to the east and the south
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
Articles
West wishes: Turkey’s growing relationship with Ukraine
As the Turkish president continues his delicate balancing act between the US and Russia, the crisis in Ukraine presents new opportunities for Ankara's transatlantic credentials
The Balkans non-paper and the dangers of Plan B
Only a firm framework of integration can bring long-term stability to the Balkans - this is as relevant today as it was in 2003, when EU leaders offered membership to all countries in the region
The EU’s Montenegro dilemma
Following a recent dispute over a $1 billion loan to Montenegro, the EU has an opportunity to take a more systematic approach to the growing Chinese presence in the Western Balkans
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.
Germany’s corruption scandals: How to limit authoritarian influence in the EU
Germany’s recent corruption scandals are as much about the health of democracy in Germany and the EU as they are simply questions of money
War of unreality: Why Russia is threatening to escalate the Ukraine conflict
European governments have yet to learn a key lesson from the war in Ukraine. The alternative reality the Kremlin lives in is becoming increasingly dangerous.
First aid: How Russia and the West can help Syrians in Idlib
A one-year extension to the current aid arrangements would be no one’s first choice – but would ensure civilians in Idlib continue to receive help
The invisible battle for Russia’s future
There are homegrown democrats in Russia who do not automatically sympathise with the West. They could lead the country to change from the top.
Sputnik in Europe: What Russia’s vaccine could mean for European health sovereignty
The EU is now the obvious platform for strategic health planning – but it still has work to ensure greater trust and solidarity in the face of future health crises
Why the EU should stop waiting for the Godot of Russian decline
Many in Europe think Russia is in decline, but basing EU policy on such deterministic thinking is a mistake. The EU should deal with Russia of today, not with that of 2050 or 2070.
Specials
Russia in the grey zones
What role does Russia play in the breakaway regions of Eastern Europe?
Life in the grey zones
Locked in a shadowy life between war and peace, "grey zones" now litter the map of Eastern Europe
Minsk Monitor
Following high level ministerial meetings on Ukraine, ECFR's Wider Europe team report on the implementation the Minsk agreement
Video
The ICTY: A Model for Justice or an Anomaly?
Julian Borger, world affairs editor for The Guardian, and Philippe Sands QC, professor of law at UCL, discuss the ICTY and its efficacy
Russia’s strategy in the Middle East
Kadri Liik gives her analysis on Russia's intervention in the Middle East
What next for US-Russia relations?
Dmitry Suslov, Programme Director at Valdai International Discussion Club, gives his analysis
Turkey’s challenges in a region in crisis
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, journalist and visiting fellow at ECFR, explains whether the recent migration deal with the EU is workable
What is the impact of targeted sanctions?
Daniel Drezner, Professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, explains
What does Putin think?
Fiona Hill, Director of the Centre on the United States and Europe at Brookings Institution, explains what the Russian president's political motivations are
Torbjörn Becker: can Putinomics survive?
ECFR speaks to Torbjörn Becker from the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics about Russia's economic outlook
Russian airstrikes in Syria: reactions & repercussions
Experts discuss what this means for the international dynamics of the conflict
Las dos guerras de Ucrania
Francisco de Borja Lasheras analiza las reformas que está afrontando Ucrania en la actualidad
Does Europe need a bigger military force?
Former EU High Representative, Dr. Javier Solana, ECFR's Nick Witney, and Hilmar Linnenkamp from SWP, discuss the need for "More Union in European Defence".
Podcasts
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
China’s formalised, seemingly nonchalant, attitude towards the Western Balkans masks a surprising nimbleness and strategic intent. In the past decade, the country has become the…
How the Turkey-UAE Rivalry is remaking the Middle East
How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?
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?
Top ten foreign policy trends in 2021
Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro predict ten bright and bold policy projections for the year to come
Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan’s thawing of the ‘frozen conflict’
The contested Nagorno-Karabakh region is at the heart of a decades-long armed standoff between neighbours Armenia and Azerbaijan. The…
Protest movement in Belarus: Will Lukashenko survive the current state (of) crisis?
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist…
The last of the offended: Russia’s first post-Putin diplomats
Kadri Liik presented her latest policy brief “The last of the offended: Russia’s first post-Putin diplomats” in a webinar organised by the Rome Office on…
ECFR Conversation with Ibrahim Kalin
ECFR Conversation with Ibrahim Kalin, Spokesman and Senior Advisor to the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Chaired by Julien Barnes-Dacey, Director of ECFR’s…
As covid-19 arrives, Putin disappears – Russia in the age of corona.
How is Russia dealing with covid-19? What impact does the pandemic have on the other underlying political issues in Russia – such as the change…
In the media
Engjellushe Morina is interviewed about the future of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.