Between Paris and Washington: Lebanon’s Competing Security Patrons
While France retains a historical basis in its role as the main security guarantor for Mount Lebanon’s Christians, recent U.S. foreign policy strides in Lebanon have evidently challenged France’s capacity in its traditional role.
Europe’s Strategic Dependencies (ESP Series 1)
The post-Cold War order is over. In this inaugural series, the European Strategic Policy Unit maps ten of Europe’s most critical strategic dependencies across energy, defence, digital infrastructure, trade, and space.
Is There a Future for Multi-Party Politics in the UK?
Why the UK’s current multi-party era will likely be temporary, unless electoral reform is implemented.
Is the Commission Finally Tightening the Leash on Schengen Border Controls?
The Commission’s new opinions acknowledge breaches across nine member states but stop short of declaring their border controls disproportionate or unlawful, leaving Schengen’s core promise unresolved.
Only a Fully Backed IRIS² Can Deliver Europe’s Sovereign Alternative to Starlink
Satellite connectivity has moved, in the span of three years, from a niche industrial concern to a core aspect of European security. Yet the continent’s response has been to build a shared constellation while quietly hedging with national ones. IRIS² cannot deliver sovereignty if Member States do not unreservedly back it.
Casting Euro’s Anchor: Why Europe Needs Its Own Sovereign Asset Now
The EU has quietly become one of Europe’s largest bond issuers. Whether that ambition hardens into something permanent or fades once the crisis money runs out will define the euro area’s financial future.
To Secure 5G Hardware, Europe Needs a Transparent Sovereignty-First Procurement Policy
China creates, the US innovates, and the EU regulates; the infamous motto which has instilled Europeans in a ‘catch up’ race in global tech. What if this did not have to be the case? How do we begin remedying our strategic dependencies in tech?
Without Stabilisers, Europe’s Ammunition Stockpiles Are Just Years Away From Failure
At a moment where EU defence policies aim to produce two million 155mm rounds a year, the need to secure a supply of stabilisers cannot be understated.
How Ukraine Could Deal the Kremlin a Losing Hand in Crimea
For the past few weeks, Ukraine has relentlessly pounded Crimea’s critical infrastructure with drone and artillery strikes, creating mounting headaches for both the Russian military and the peninsula’s civilian population. Ukraine may be dealing Russia a losing hand by turning Crimea into “an island” via a two-fold strategy: raising the costs of occupation and cultivating fear about losing Crimea through the Russian ranks and political class apparatus.
How Digital Product Passports Can Map Europe’s Supply Chain Dependencies
The EU’s supply chain policy will remain reactive unless it builds a clearer system for seeing where product-level dependencies actually sit.
To Close Its Military Tech Gap, Europe Needs a Binding Defence Technology Union
In an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical context, Europe can still develop the defence tech it needs for the 21st century and ensure that European defence decisions remain in European hands.
Only a Region-Wide Strategy Can Solve the EU’s Pipeline Chokepoint In the Caucasus
In actively diversifying its energy and infrastructure since 2022, the EU has, in effect, pooled its operational risk into three partners in the South Caucasus, even as their political paths head in starkly different directions. What is at stake is not only regional connectivity but the structural coherence of the EU’s post-2022 energy security agenda.
