Reports

The slow start to Europe’s vaccination program has set off a round of unhelpful political finger-pointing. A levelheaded analysis shows the EU should prioritize testing and vaccine procurement, while empowering local governments to decide more on health policy. It should also allow businesses to open and encourage innovation in developing ...

The European Union took bold initiatives in 2020 to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and lay the foundations for economic recovery. This year the EU’s crisis management capacities will be tested by the need to deliver on these commitments amid acrimony over delays in delivering vaccines, political uncertainty in key member ...

An investment deal between China and the European Union was hurriedly concluded as 2020 was drawing to a close. At a glance, Europe seems to have achieved many of its objectives, like better access to Chinese markets and promises of improving human rights conditions. However, the agreement is not without ...

Our favorite GIS cartoons of 2020

Nord Stream 2 is perhaps Europe’s most controversial energy project. In October, the U.S. slapped another set of sanctions on contractors and suppliers building the pipeline, while the pandemic-induced drop in economic activity has further called into question the initiative’s financial viability. Berlin and Moscow now have a significant dilemma ...

The world is focused on the pandemic and the U.S. elections, and the dire scenarios many say they will bring. While both are important, it is crucial to understand that reacting with alarm will only lead to bad outcomes. Not considering solutions in a levelheaded manner puts individual freedoms at ...

Like the United States, the European Union faces the prospect of a systemic conflict with Beijing. However, weaning the European economy off China would pose significant challenges. Many countries on the continent, Germany foremost among them, are dependent on Chinese trade. Still, the EU might be forced to consider some ...

Modern-day iconoclasts are removing objects and symbols of Western civilization as part of moralistic campaigns. By doing so, they are falsifying history and attacking the very foundation of democracy.

The Covid-19 crisis presented EU leaders with an opportunity to regain popularity by handing out billions of euros in aid. Doling out such huge sums is sure to weaken the market by emphasizing bureaucratic activity over competition and innovation. For now, the EU’s problems have been papered over, but when ...

As the number of coronavirus infections rises across Europe, many governments, including Germany’s, are considering implementing a second lockdown. But another shutdown of Europe’s largest economy could be disastrous and have far-reaching effects throughout the continent.

The German government hopes to overcome the shortcomings of its Energiewende plan with new initiatives such as a coal phaseout by 2038, a new climate policy package and an ambitious hydrogen strategy. But the blueprint still lacks coherence and cost efficiency, meaning it could further weaken the economic competitiveness of ...

President Donald Trump has finally announced a long-discussed redeployment of some American forces in Europe, mainly from Germany to Italy and Belgium. Wielded as a “punishment" by the U.S. administration, the move is less consequential from an immediate military perspective than critics and the media would admit. But it does ...

Many have hailed the EU’s July decision to partially mutualize its newly issued debt as a “historic step.” Massive as it is, the stimulus package is unlikely to fix Europe’s fragile and crisis-stricken economies, even if the Union’s show of unity has already firmed it politically. However, the change in ...

The toughest nut to crack in the Balkans remains resolving the Kosovo-Serbia conflict. Recently, the U.S. has stepped further into the fray, jockeying with the EU for primacy in leading the negotiations. At the same time, the regime in Belgrade has strengthened, while in Pristina, the third government in a ...

The coronavirus crisis has had a profound effect on Europe, not only bringing changes that no one thought possible just months ago but deepening divisions and intensifying acrimony between EU countries. With these ruptures laid bare, the bloc again faces an existential crisis. It should survive for now, but a ...

German politics have reached an unprecedented level of incoherence and, with no clear source of leadership, the situation is likely to worsen. The Christian Democrats may survive the 2021 federal elections. However, they will need to seek new allies to govern, leaving them in poor shape to address the pressing ...

The leader of Ukraine had high hopes for the December 9, 2019, Normandy Four talks in Paris. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised Ukrainians the start of a vigorous peace process with Russia. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in no hurry to end the Donbas conflict. The United States has lost ...

Despite recent failures, the German government is more determined than ever to implement its renewable energy goals, which are much more stringent than those set by the EU. An increase in renewable energy sources will mitigate reliance on foreign energy imports, but Berlin will have to strike a difficult balance ...

The Eastern Partnership has lacked a strategy since its creation in 2009. Designed to promote European values in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the project has done little to reduce poverty and corruption in participating countries. Furthermore, the latter have often found themselves struggling to balance allegiances to ...

Brexit has raised expectations of renewed attempts at joint Franco-German leadership of the EU. Without Britain’s leveling role, however, the EU’s prospects under the Berlin-Paris tandem could depend on compromises between German ordoliberalism and French economic interventionism. Smaller member states are concerned that their interests would be shunted aside.

Despite the need for a united EU stance on Chinese competition and security issues, Germany remains focused on bilateral relations. By doing so, it gains a valuable trade partner, but it also incurs the risk of expanding China’s influence in the European sphere. The only way for Berlin to solve ...

After 20 years of absence, the U.S. has realized that the EU alone cannot broker peace in the Western Balkans, and that this power vacuum could open the door to non-EU influence. Washington is currently taking several measures to ensure that key agreements are concluded before the next U.S. presidential ...

Election results in Saxony and Brandenburg show the Christian Democrats and the Social Democratic Party are losing ground. Unless voter concerns like migration, safety and a credible approach against pollution are addressed, both parties will fare poorly in the federal elections.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to put EU expansion on hold while the bloc reforms itself and the European Commission has downplayed any potential for Western Balkans countries to join the bloc soon. Meanwhile, the region languishes in limbo – the continuous delays make tackling corruption less urgent for their ...