Carnegie Europe
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There will be no respite when European leaders return from a summer break punctuated by floods, cyber attacks, coronavirus, and challenges to the EU’s rule of law. All the more reason for them to explain to citizens what is at stake for Europe’s future.*
Europe must be ready to support the creation of a regional mechanism for collective security in the Persian Gulf when the opportunity arises. Launching initial talks on concrete issues such as maritime security and nuclear safety would be a good first step toward conflict de-escalation and confidence-building.
Chancellor Merkel’s last official visit to the White House holds a special political significance. President Biden has placed human rights and rule of law at the top of his agenda, just as these values are under attack from within and outside Europe.
To fulfill its ambition of becoming an effective geopolitical power, the EU should place ecological security and diplomacy at the heart of its foreign and security policy. This approach should entail practical and innovative strategies that pursue systemic regeneration at home and abroad.
The coronavirus pandemic has strained the EU’s efforts to promote democracy. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Western Balkans, where China and Russia have used vaccine diplomacy to strengthen their roles in the region.
The coming months may well see more bitterness and friction in UK-EU relations. These tensions threaten to unravel the fragile 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which has largely kept violence at bay in Northern Ireland.
EU funding mobilized for the Western Balkans’ green transformation could ultimately flow right into the coffers of Russia and China. The European Commission cannot ignore the geopolitical implications of its Green Agenda for the region.
U.S. President Joe Biden left Europe escorted by a flurry of positive comments. And rightly so—his European visit was a success. But it has left Washington’s European partners with unanswered questions about how to reinvigorate the liberal democratic model.
The European Union must ensure the survival of Russian civil society that is now subject to unprecedented repression. It also needs a strategy to respond quickly in case a narrow window of opportunity for democratic change opens in Russia.
Eight years of European thinking that Tehran could be a partner will end when hardliner Ebrahim Raisi becomes Iran’s next president. The EU should update its approach to the Persian Gulf by going beyond the nuclear file and focusing on regional security.