Opinion
European Council on Foreign RelationsOpinion

Code, clouds, satellite: The defence layer Europe should not outsource

As Europe rearms, the real vulnerability is not on tanks or missiles but the software and networks behind them. The union can import weapons. It cannot afford t ...
European Council on Foreign RelationsOpinion

Bypassing the straits: The India-Middle East-Europe corridor needs a wartime redesign

The Iran war has exposed the limits of an economic corridor built for peacetime. Europeans should rethink the India-Middle ...
European Council on Foreign RelationsOpinion

How China’s silent coercion has Europe sanctioning itself

Beijing no longer needs to actively deploy economic coercion to shape Europe’s economic agenda in its interest ...
European Council on Foreign RelationsOpinion

As the US midterms loom, the Republican choice is surrender—or lose

A loyal voter base is allowing Trump to dominate the Republican Party and strengthen his control before the midterms. Now his ...
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J.D. Vance’s foreign policy: When restraint meets culture war

When it comes to foreign policy, history shows us there are two types of US vice president. A few amass outsized power and influence, like George W. Bush’s second in command, Dick Cheney, who was the ...
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Why Russia’s actions pose a threat well beyond its neighbours

In mid-March, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez confidently asserted to his European allies that Russia will not “bring its troops across the Pyrenees.” This sentiment echoes a European belief ...
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The paradox of intervention: How US strikes in Yemen empowered the Houthis

Following the end of the US military campaign against the Houthis on May 6th, American president Donald Trump claimed the group had “capitulated”. In reality, however, the US pullback is likely as ...
European Council on Foreign Relations

Rescuing the Gaza ceasefire: What to do with Hamas’s weapons

President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan is at risk of falling apart because of American and Israeli maximalism over how, ...
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Sowing discord: How Russia is making the most of a global fertiliser shortage

Developing economies are particularly reliant on Russian fertilisers, for good reason. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries have been imposing restrictions ...
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Briefing Online “From vulnerability to leverage: Europe’s defenses against Chinese economic coercion”

L'Ufficio di Roma dello European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) ha organizzato un briefing online dal titolo "From vulnerability to leverage: Europe's defe ...
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One step beyond: Why the EU needs a Russia strategy

The European Union needs a Russia strategy. Since February 2022, it has pursued a Ukraine policy; it still does not have a separate one for Russia. Yet, the EU’s relationship to Russia cannot be ...
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Friends-and-family diplomacy: Lessons for Europe from Gaza and Ukraine

US president Donald Trump’s almost exclusive reliance on friends and family as envoys to broker difficult foreign policy deals poses systemic risks for Europe. The Trump envoys typically plug into a ...