Together, the United States and Europe can modernize the post–1945 international order. This requires a strong commitment to democracy and the defense of the norms and values that define the West.
NATO struggles to respond to events falling in between the seams of collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security. Allies should use the 2022 Strategic Concept to map out how they will deal with Russian and Chinese hybrid warfare.
Boris Johnson ignores the old truth that blaming scapegoats is one way to a run a campaign but no way to run a country. While this lasts, the flame of rational, outward-looking patriotism must be kept alight by Britain’s civil society.
A new coalition in Germany has ambitious plans to modernize a country that slipped into complacency and risk aversion. Its newfound energy could give the EU a much-needed impulse.
To avoid an open rule-of-law dialogue with the EU, Turkey is being selective in its areas of engagement with the bloc. The union must make clear that compartmentalizing EU-Turkey relations to suit Ankara’s domestic political convenience is not acceptable.
Most European leaders are disillusioned with Russia. But continuing divisions inside the EU over how to deal with the Kremlin prevent a coherent Russia strategy and play into the hands of Putin.
If climate action fails, the EU will succumb to economic breakdown of supply chains and migratory pressures. To avoid this, the bloc must advance climate justice and restore trust between developed and developing economies.
The EU has been slow and irresolute in stopping Minsk from using migrants as a hybrid weapon to weaken the bloc. A migration and asylum policy—not a fortress Europe—is the answer.
The EU has long been the dominant player in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however its policy toward the country and the Western Balkans more broadly is failing. A recent vote in the UN Security Council has destroyed what was left of the union’s credibility.
The global arms control regime is disintegrating. To reverse this trend, Europe and the United States will have to find a way to engage both Russia and China.
Europe is facing soaring gas prices. To avoid further crises, the EU should speed up its transition to renewables, reduce dependence on Russia, and formulate a coherent energy policy.
As a leader in international climate diplomacy, the EU still lacks an ecological foreign policy. The union will need to make some far-reaching changes to its geopolitical strategies if it is to place ecological imperatives above other interests.
Among Belarusians, trust in the political elite remains low while the perceived effectiveness of EU sanctions is decreasing. The union must keep the latter in mind when assessing its strategy toward the country.
Because of Brexit, a peace accord that ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland is hanging by a thread. The stability of this part of Europe depends on the EU and Britain finding a compromise.
The EU remains the Western Balkans’ primary trading partner and investor. But failing to step up engagement and deliver on enlargement promises will come at a high cost and benefit the likes of Russia and China.
With twenty months left until Turkey’s legislative and presidential elections, the political debate will be fierce. The West may choose to sit it out rather than see its relationship with Ankara deteriorate even further.
Despite the fallout over AUKUS, France does not intend to withdraw from the Indo-Pacific. The diplomatic crisis has given President Macron a chance to make his country’s voice heard on a major geostrategic issue.
Belarus is illegally sending migrants to Lithuania and Poland in response to these governments’ outspoken criticism of Lukashenko’s crackdown on the opposition. This cynical strategy is prompting the EU to forge its own short-sighted migration policy.
Berlin’s ability and willingness to lead Europe cannot be taken for granted. Any new coalition will first have to overcome major internal differences on climate, foreign policy, and defense before tackling the EU’s future direction.
Unconvinced by the EU’s stance toward an increasingly assertive China, Australia has sidelined Europe in its approach to the Indo-Pacific. This places Canberra’s trade and diplomatic relations with Europe at risk.
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