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Many initiatives have been proposed (Military assistance mission in support of Ukraine, maritime security operation ASPIDES, adoption of the EU space strategy for security and defence, and the cyber resilience act, reinforcement of the single intelligence analysis capacity and the EU satellite Centre, adoption of the third EU-NATO joint declaration, publication of a European defence industry package, including a strategy and a legislative proposal for a defence industry programme among other initiatives).

The European Union at the crossroads

Any observer of the international context may, quite understandably, struggle to process the forces that are at play: the terms under which Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine might end;

NATO remains the guarantor of last resort for its members that border the Black Sea: Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. No matter how the war against Ukraine ends, Russia will still be a challenge. The Kalibr cruise missiles on Moscow’s ships and submarines can wreak havoc beyond Ukrainian cities. NATO is already ensconced on land, with France and Italy leading multinational contingents in Romania and Bulgaria, respectively. As in the Baltic, there is a NATO air-policing mission over the Black Sea. Whether European allies can deter Russia effectively in case of a U.S. drawdown remains to be seen.

The Black Sea has become the fulcrum of Europe’s security

By: EBR | Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Black Sea is pivotal in Russia’s war against Ukraine and the wider standoff between Moscow and the West. To counter the Russian threat in the region, the EU has adopted a new strategy, and Turkey is building up its capabilities

For example, there will inevitably be even greater numbers of Africans seeking refuge in Europe. And the United States, having abandoned the soft power of foreign aid, will alienate many governments across the world that were friends, so damaging U.S. business and security interests over time.

The humanitarian crises that we dare to ignore

By: EBR | Thursday, June 19, 2025

The failure of Western governments to address the humanitarian disasters and the corruption fueling conflicts in Africa is as short-sighted as it is tragic.

In 1980 it accounted for almost a third of the global economy, but now just 15 per cent. On the other hand, Europe was mostly a geographical description then; the EU numbered nine countries, whereas today it has three times as many, its own currency and an embryo political structure. The bloc is potentially a super-power,” he states.

Giles Merritt’s new book: Timebomb. When Ageing Explodes

By: EBR | Wednesday, June 18, 2025

People may be living longer throughout Europe but that is creating “massive unfairness” says a new book on ageing, recently launched in Brussels

Ironically, U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of subsidies might open the door to a transatlantic tech transfer—an unexpected answer to the competitiveness concerns of former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. This pragmatic approach could help Europe onshore climate tech that supports the Clean Industrial Deal, and even implement a “reverse Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).”

Europe’s playbook for climate engagement with the United States

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Europe should leverage the U.S. climate policy shift and safeguard its green transition goals by building cooperation on geothermal energy among other things and focusing on technologies that enhance security and decarbonization

Prosecutors said Goran Vasic, the acting director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, had admitted to fabricating an expert opinion which had been used to justify the change of status. He faces charges of abuse of office and forgery of official documents.

A Belgrade landmark bombed by Nato could get Trump makeover

By: EBR | Monday, June 16, 2025

One of the first sights that greets arrivals to the centre of Serbia’s capital Belgrade are government buildings in an advance state of collapse. Nato planes bombed them back in 1999

Between dependence and deterrence: Recasting the transatlantic relationship

By: EBR | Thursday, June 5, 2025

The Pentagon has it right: Mutual interest and common sense, not pseudo-intellectual exercises in civilizational splittism, ought to govern the U.S.’s relationship with Europe

Making the situation even more complicated are the structural challenges within the British economy. The National Health Service, social care, and hospitality sectors are heavily reliant on migrant workers, most of whom come from non-EU countries. Starmer’s push to tighten visa requirements for low-wage industries risks triggering labour shortages and undermining his drive for economic growth — a key pillar of his government’s success — pitting political promises against economic realities. Business leaders warn that without overseas staff, the UK’s fragile recovery could easily stumble.

Starmer’s international wins can’t hide his domestic migration headaches

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Despite international deals, the UK prime minister faces rising pressure from Reform UK, internal Labour critics, and voters demanding tougher border controls

Five decades ago, American Jews represented about 20% of Harvard undergraduates. Some critics claim that the decline in Jewish enrollment to 10% indicates a less welcoming attitude at Harvard. But in fact, the decrease reflects the dramatic changes in the racial composition of a class.Fifty years ago, the student body was about 80% white and 12% Black — with a small percentage of Asian Americans. The demographics have changed dramatically since then.

Trump escalates his war on the Ivy League

By: EBR | Monday, May 26, 2025

The Trump Administration has launched an assault on Ivy League universities in an unprecedented attack on academic freedom.

EU and the New World (Dis)Order

By: EBR | Thursday, May 22, 2025

Germany and Europe face a period of strategic uncertainty. How to use it constructively?

Two members of the Brussels commission include age-related responsibilities in their portfolios – Croatia’s Dubravka Suica has demography as part of her Mediterranean overview, and Malta’s Glenn Micallef lists ‘intergenerational fairness’ along with youth activities and sport. Neither has the budget and a directorate-general to suggest determined EU policy initiatives are in the pipeline.

It’s time for an EU Action Plan to address the impact of Europe’s ageing

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 21, 2025

It’s risky to predict anything nowadays

However, scratching below the surface, the Netherlands was no paradise of harmony and prosperity. Periods of dramatic economic and technological transformation always offer more benefits to some groups than others. They also create changes that some embrace and others resist.

Trump’s U.S. falls prey to the Dutch disease

By: EBR | Friday, May 16, 2025

Superficially viewed, Donald Trump’s attacks on the global economic and strategic order appear as attacks on the rest of the world

For Europe, particularly NATO countries bordering Russia, this dual challenge is highly relevant. Escalation control in a nuclear context demands clear communication channels and pre-defined red lines. Simultaneously, governments must be ready to wage an information war, leveraging open-source intelligence and rapid-response communication strategies to maintain public trust and shape narratives.

Lessons from the India vs Pakistan air clash: a wake-up call for Europe

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 14, 2025

While Europe’s attention remains fixed on Ukraine, the recent short but intense air conflict between India and Pakistan offers valuable lessons for future air warfare—particularly for Nato defence planners

Never mind that Rama’s close allies have an unfortunate habit of ending up in court. Just this February, the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, was placed in pre-trial detention on charges of corruption and money laundering. In 2022, it was former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri who received a prison sentence for his ties to drug traffickers.

The Brief – Edi Rama, everybody’s friend

By: EBR | Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Rama’s supporters are thrilled with his fourth term. But election results are entirely predictable in a well-managed country.

Pope Leo XIV certainly is a polyglot. He is, of course, the first American to be elected pope. Leo XIV is also the first pope to hold dual citizenship and, therefore, he also is the first Peruvian pope in history.Pope Leo XIV lived for over 20 years in Peru. Finally, it has been disclosed in recent days that Leo XIV has Creole roots on his maternal grandparents’ side.

Pope Leo XIV: A True American Globalist

By: EBR | Monday, May 12, 2025

How the election of Pope Leo XIV may spiritually reset the clock on spreading nationalism

We may well be seeing the smashing of the compact reached in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, at the Mount Washington Hotel back in 1944. Representatives of 44 allied nations met under U.S. and U.K. leadership to establish multilateral economic institutions to ensure that the post-Second World War world would be guided by a true spirit of partnership, cooperation and goodwill.

Destroying the U.S.’s last global bridges?

By: EBR | Thursday, May 8, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump took a sledgehammer to the international trading system. Now, he is going to do the same to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and global poverty funding.

They even beat Labour, who had just won a record breaking majority in a General Election in 2024, in a by-election to parliament. Analysts pointed to the party’s appeal among working-class Labour voters — a blend of old left-wing economic messaging, such as support for trade unions and reindustrialisation, combined with hard-right stances on immigration and “anti-woke” rhetoric.

The end of Left vs Right: Populism is redrawing Global Politics

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK success in the local elections highlights how identity, nationalism, and culture wars are replacing the traditional political divide

Whether Europeans are willing and able to compensate for Trump’s scrapping of US support remains to be seen. The EU’s €300bn Global Gateway strategy for 2021-27 aims chiefly at climate and energy projects, with health and education accounting for only 16 per cent. It’s hard to see the EU having either the cash or the political bandwidth to launch a yet more ambitious effort.

Trump’s axing of US aid hands the EU a global leadership role

By: EBR | Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Donald Trump’s Blitzkrieg of chaos is eclipsing urgent problems that put the future of the planet, and perhaps mankind, at risk

As it turns out, Farage is also a great advocate of European proportional voting systems. Lately, he has even started extolling the benefits of European health insurance schemes to replace Britain’s taxpayer-funded National Health Service. The NHS was set up by Labour in 1948 and is now akin to a state religion for most Brits.

A Brexit-Damaged England Now Embraces Continental European Politics

By: EBR | Monday, May 5, 2025

Britain now looks more like most EU member states where four, five or more parties all lay claim to votes and posts in government at the national and local level

While countries like France, Italy, and the UK do possess blue water navies, they are dwarfed by their American counterpart. They will struggle to be everywhere all at once, as is required to secure global shipping. Consequently, Europe will have a fundamental problem breaking out of its “Permanent Suez” and securing minerals for its industrial supply chains.

Ukraine’s not so critical mineral deposits

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 23, 2025

As Trump pursues trade wars and the annexation of territories for natural resources, access to Ukraine’s minerals could strain transatlantic relations. Given Europe’s lack of resources and limited military power to secure supplies, even Ukraine’s modest wealth might be worth negotiating for

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Europe’s Playbook for Climate Engagement with the United States

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