Foreign policy & defence
Europe tests the waters for a stronger defence policy: EU leaders must agree on where threats to the continent originate
13 August 2020
Financial Times
For the past four years, the EU has trumpeted its plans to invest in defence. This summer’s budget negotiations were a test of its ambitions. Now that the dust is settling, where is EU defence headed?
CER podcast: A rigged election in Belarus: Can Lukashenka cling to power?
12 August 2020
Lukashenka has rigged his re-election as president of Belarus, and begun a violent crackdown on protesters rejecting the result.
CER podcast: The EU's increasingly troubled relationship with China
29 July 2020
Growing economic tensions, COVID-19, cyber attacks, disinformation, intellectual property theft, a security clamp down in Hong Kong, treatment of the Uyghurs and restrictions on Huawei:
Europe, the US and Huawei: Do hang up!
27 July 2020
Encompass
China and the US are in conflict over trade, human rights, cyber security and much more. Europe risks getting caught in the crossfire as the US tries to prevent the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from dominating global 5G networks and China threatens retaliation against countries that shut Huawei out.
CER podcast: Belarus may be less stable than it appears
17 July 2020
Lukashenka is certain to win Belarus’s presidential election. But his suppression of dissent poses a dilemma for the EU: punishing Lukashenka could help Russia to extend its sway over the country.
London calling Huawei out
16 July 2020
Aspenia Online
After much deliberation, in mid-July the British government decided to implement restrictions on the role of controversial Chinese company Huawei in the UK’s next-generation 5G telecommunications network.
Europe must take on its own defense responsibilities
03 July 2020
Defence News
As they look at the state of their coronavirus-hit economies and U.S. President Donald Trump’s poor standing in opinion polls, many European leaders may be tempted to put on hold any plans to meet NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.
The EU must be prepared to be critical of China. It can start with Hong Kong’s security law
24 June 2020
Euronews
China’s plan to impose a new security law on Hong Kong shows that Beijing is tightening its grip on the former British colony.
Don’t let UK-EU foreign policy co-operation be collateral damage of Brexit
17 June 2020
The Times
Six months has passed since Brexit, but there has been no significant progress in the negotiations to define the future UK-EU relationship.
Europe must stand up to China before it’s too late
16 June 2020
Foreign Policy
Europe’s prosperity depends on an orderly system that ensures the global flow of goods, services, capital, and – however much populists object – labor. But 2020 is turning out to be a very bad year for the rules-based international order.
CER podcast: Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic is deepening the transatlantic rift
03 June 2020
Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic is creating new friction in the transatlantic relationship and exacerbating existing differences on China, trade and defence spending. Tensions will get worse if Trump is re-elected in November.
CER podcast: Putin hits a bad patch
06 May 2020
As 2020 started, Vladimir Putin’s economic, political and diplomatic position looked strong. Now he faces recession, an exploding COVID-19 pandemic and declining domestic support. What does that mean for the West?
CER podcast: The EU, the US and China: Irresponsible stakeholders in the global order?
08 April 2020
The EU, the US and China are the most important economic blocs in the world. But trade, political and security relations between them are becoming dangerously tense. Can the EU calm things down?
CER podcast: The EU must fight COVID-19 on the home front and abroad
25 March 2020
EU solidarity went missing when the COVID-19 pandemic started, feeding eurosceptic narratives. The Union is now getting its act together internally.
EU's institutional framework regarding defence matters
20 March 2020
European Parliament
The new initiatives and developments in the EU’s institutional defence architecture in recent years have the potential to make the Union a more capable defence actor.
Judy Asks: Is Europe betraying refugees?
12 March 2020
Carnegie Europe
Europe has been betraying refugees since Syria’s civil war began, but the situation is worsening.
Now in EU interest to work with Turkey on migration
05 March 2020
EU Observer
The European Union is facing the prospect of renewed migration crisis after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared he would "open the gates" and allow the over four million refugees living in Turkey to freely travel to Europe.
¿Es el momento de que la UE reexamine sus relaciones con Bielorrusia?
05 March 2020
ESglobal
La política de la UE respecto a Bielorrusia no ha tenido ambición.
The EU should step up engagement with Belarus
02 March 2020
Emerging Europe
The EU’s engagement with Belarus has been limited due to the country’s political oppression, human rights abuses, and close ties to Russia.
CER podcast: Europe and Libya
12 February 2020
The conflict in Libya is spiralling out of control despite the recent Berlin conference. Beth Oppenheim and Luigi Scazzieri discuss why Europe has struggled to influence Libya, and how the conflict may evolve.