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Europeans have been disappointingly limited militarily in relation to Ukraine, but their defence outreach is set to be surprisingly daunting. Whether wearing NATO or EU hats, their armed forces have been constrained more by politics than by operational weaknesses. A ‘no-fly’ policy to prevent Russian air attacks or ‘tripwire forces’ on Ukraine’s eastern borders of ‘tripwire forces’ have been deadlocked by political wrangling rather than practical barriers.

The EU must define its red lines in a tough new security doctrine

Realpolitik, greatly enhanced by television, has in recent weeks sent an embarrassing message around the world – the European Union isn’t the global player it claims to be

Bayrou took over from Michel Barnier last December after Barnier failed to get his budget through the Assembly.Bayrou managed to pass a budget thanks to a non-aggression pact with the Socialists, but their relations plunged when a conference on the latest pension reform failed to take account of Socialist demands.

France in fresh political crisis after MPs oust prime minister

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 10, 2025

France has been plunged into a new political crisis with the defeat of Prime Minister François Bayrou at a confidence vote in the National Assembly

He not only backed down from some landmark reforms but also started what became a signature method: throwing money at the problem, even though the money was growing increasingly unsustainable. He shielded the French from Covid-19’s inflationary shock in a unique way even in Europe, but it was financed with money Paris simply didn’t have. In many European quarters, despite his success in making France more attractive for foreign investment, Macron’s credibility—and ability to deliver—has struggled in the shadow of the Yellow Vests ever since.

Macron has a historic choice to make for France and Europe

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 10, 2025

France’s political instability and financial crisis are weakening both its own and the EU’s global influence. To prevent full paralysis, French President Emmanuel Macron faces a choice: either overhaul his method or face paralysis and destroy his legacy

An unambitious EU target would also provide a convenient excuse for major global emitters—like China or India—to underdeliver on their own targets, severely complicating the world’s efforts to contain the negative repercussions of climate change that are becoming a daily occurrence.

The EU’s 2040 target is about much more than just climate

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The EU’s ambition to slash carbon emissions by 90 percent by 2040 is challenged by internal divisions and global turmoil. But this target must cement a new era of European climate action, linked to innovation, competitiveness, and security.

There’s a hybrid of national ‘red’ bonds to be converted over time into common ‘blue’ bonds that could cut borrowing costs. Another possibility is sovereign bond-backed securities (SBBS), which would bundle EU member states’ national bonds together with other certifiably safe assets to make an attractive new investment package. There are also innovative financial products based on the digital euro, which EU policymakers already back as a way to free European consumers from US-owned credit cards.

The time is ripe for Eurobonds as Trump’s dollar weakens

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The havoc created by Donald Trump’s assault on the global economy is reviving calls for Eurobonds that would challenge the increasingly unstable US dollar as a safe haven.

Marine Le Pen is leading calls for a new dissolution of the National Assembly, which under the constitution is now possible. No second dissolution was allowed within a year of the first which meant that until July there was no way out of the parliamentary impasse.

France heads for political crisis as PM Bayrou risks all on confidence vote

By: EBR | Monday, September 1, 2025

France is on the brink of another political crisis, after Prime Minister François Bayrou’s shock decision to submit his government to a vote of confidence in parliament

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First, it must continue building renewables and make full use of the revolutionary potential of electric vehicles and battery storage. If we want to go fast, we must make it much easier to build clean projects like wind or power lines, or indeed industrial facilities like battery factories or processing plants. In fact, the 2040 plan should be an electrification action plan as much as a climate strategy. 

Europe’s 2040 climate target isn’t just for environmentalists

By: EBR | Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Europe can’t decarbonise the world on its own. But it must develop policies that work so that other nations can copy and adapt them

“Alongside the social and health implications, we must also consider that we want an agreement that ensures the viability of the pharmaceutical sector, which, as the second-largest export sector, makes a crucial contribution to the European economy,” he stressed.

Greek MEPs demand tariff-free trade in medicines as new deadline looms

By: EBR | Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Greek MEPs Papandreou and Tsiodras warn that US pharma tariffs threaten health and supply chains, urging the Commission to react accordingly.

European leaders who share the vision of a values-based foreign policy should adopt their own Team Europe approach. While some countries may have lost credibility or interest when it comes to promoting human rights and the rule of law in the Southern Mediterranean, others, including Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain, are viewed much more positively. These countries are well positioned to lead an agenda that promotes democracy and human rights both inside the EU and through coordinated efforts to counter antidemocratic actors.

The EU Needs Values-Based Engagement in the Southern Mediterranean

By: EBR | Thursday, July 3, 2025

As the EU prepares a new pact for its Southern neighborhood, the union should balance economic and security interests with support for civil society, political reforms, and inclusive governance

A switch to qualified-majority voting would have obvious benefits. It would help to prevent the watering-down of sanctions proposals to their lowest common denominator as twenty-seven capitals argue that sanctions should not impact their respective national champions. It would also prevent policy paralysis and project EU unity, instead of placing the spotlight on the fringe stances of a handful of EU states. Finally, it would help shield the EU from the divide-and-rule tactics of Russia, China, and other adversaries.

How the EU can think creatively for sanctions on Russia

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Ahead of Thursday’s European Council summit, it is hard to deny that EU sanctions on Russia are facing headwinds

Since the EPRS’s launch in 2013 as the parliament’s in-house think tank, it has earned a solid reputation for digging into areas that ‘good news’ EU officials may leave undisturbed. Its report looked at the EU’s 10 main policy categories and listed a host of initiatives and reforms that would deliver massive benefits if delivered on.

’Good news’ EU downplays €2.8 trillion cost of non-Europe

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 17, 2025

The ‘eurocrats’ at the top of the EU’s executive Commission are fond of good news, and spread it whenever they can

"The Conservative Party in government, and now in opposition has always been clear that any deal must ensure that the sovereignty and rights of Gibraltar are safeguarded in full and must carry the support of the government and people of Gibraltar, as well as protect constitutional arrangements. We also consistently opposed any efforts by Spain to disrupt the flow of goods at the border," she said.

UK agrees post-Brexit deal over Gibraltar

By: EBR | Friday, June 13, 2025

The UK has agreed a deal with the European Union over Gibraltar’s status after Brexit

After all, even Rupert Murdoch’s Sunday Times has noted that the voters in the old northern heartlands of Brexit know it has delivered none of its promises and just want to move on.

Britain after Brexit: Not Sovereign, but on the fence forever

By: EBR | Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Brexit is still hurting Britain, but it is now on life support as ever more Britons realize their voting mistake

Another pressure point is Kashmir. The deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam this April, which killed 26 civilians, reignited tensions between India and Pakistan. The aftermath saw diplomatic expulsions and limited military exchanges. In Brussels, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar was quick to clarify that the recent Operation Sindoor was aimed at terrorist infrastructure — not Pakistan itself. “Think of it less as a strike against Pakistan, and more against terrorism,” he told reporters.

The EU-India strategic dialogue: Big promises, bigger questions

By: EBR | Wednesday, June 11, 2025

As Brussels and New Delhi race to deepen ties in trade, tech, and defence, can high ambition overcome the challenges ahead?

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Germany’s long-awaited pivot to leading Europe

By: EBR | Friday, June 6, 2025

Chancellor German Friedrich Merz is wasting no time in reshaping Berlin’s role in Europe and farther afield. To achieve his foreign policy objectives, the chancellor must have a strategic outlook and demonstrate conviction

At the same time, he will likely support military aid for Ukraine. He holds no sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and recognizes that Ukraine’s victory is vital to Poland’s interests. As a result, it will be difficult for him to align with Washington if U.S. President Donald Trump pursues a reset with Moscow.

Razor-Thin and deeply divided: The Polish election shock

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 3, 2025

The election of populist Karol Nawrocki as Poland’s president poses challenges to the country’s reform agenda and deeper EU integration. Yet, the narrow result underscores that Poland still has a strong, resilient pro-European democratic core.

While the Civic Platform chose Rafal Trzaskowski, the Mayor of Warsaw, a nice liberal politician like London Mayor Sadiq Khan, to be its candidate for President, the PiS allowed Nawrocki to run as an “independent,” albeit one who, like PiS politicians, is an anti-abortion, anti-EU, anti-gay, anti-woke candidate.

Sobering News from Poland: Advantage PiS and Nawrocki

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Poland’s new President, a strident nationalist, is politically close to Trump and Farage — and a potential misfortune for the EU‘s political center.

Until then, it is worth revisiting, from time to time, the central assertion regarding natural rights in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The U.S. State Department’s artful misreading of contemporary Europe

By: EBR | Monday, June 2, 2025

Does Europe really need a crusade from American shores to save it? On the dangers of using the history of Western intellectual thought to conflate questions of legal governance with political persecution.

But those in Europe who say broaching the topic and presenting a plan would encourage the Trump administration to abandon the Europeans infantilize their American counterparts. Also, Europeans cannot keep pretending that every single capability the United States provides is irreplaceable and unattainable. It undermines their own credibility and desirability as allies. If everything is vital, nothing is.

The irresistible plan Europeans can offer Trump to save NATO

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 28, 2025

At the next NATO summit, Europeans have an opportunity to set new conditions for decades to come. They can strengthen the alliance by committing to a timeline that allows for a U.S. drawdown while preserving American strategic enablers

First of all, my train from Paris to Frankfurt departed two hours late. This is not entirely surprising. German trains are frequently very late or cancelled — something which is quite rare in France.

Germany goes loopy

By: EBR | Monday, May 26, 2025

Let me first dispel the myth that all Germans speak English. It is quite simply not true.

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The EU must define its red lines in a tough new security doctrine

The EU must define its red lines in a tough new security doctrine

Realpolitik, greatly enhanced by television, has in recent weeks sent an embarrassing message around the world – the European Union isn’t the global player it claims to be

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