Italy’s Border Controls Over the Ceuta Crisis: A Familiar Tool, an Unfamiliar Storm
A migrant crisis in Ceuta. A border closure with no shared border. A word, “suspension,” that is hardly legally possible. Untangling Europe’s strangest border story of the summer.
The EU Is Ceding Influence and Running Out of Time in the South Caucasus
How can the EU project real influence in a region where China, Russia, and Turkey move faster? Can Brussels balance its need for Azerbaijani gas with its own democratic principles? And what will it take for Europe to secure Armenia’s pivot to the West while preventing Georgia’s descent into authoritarian isolation?
From Shia Ascendancy to Sunni Resurgence: The Emerging Middle East Europe Has Little Role In
The Shia Crescent built by Iran over two decades has fractured with startling speed. What is emerging in its place is a contested Sunni resurgence, and Europe has been absent from every pivotal moment of this transformation.
Made in Ukraine, Sold in Europe: A Test for the Continent’s Arms Producers
Eurosatory 2026 closed in Paris on 19 June after a record turnout of roughly 2,000 exhibitors and 43,000 visitors. Yet the real story was Ukraine, whose delegation grew from just 10 companies in 2024 to 80 this year.
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.
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.
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.
What Would It Take For Europe To Become a Global Geopolitical Power?
What would it take for Europe to become a truly autonomous actor on the world stage? What should be the relationship between the EU and its member states? How could national governments improve the interoperability of their defence forces? And where will Europe find the necessary resources and energy supplies to power its industrial engine?
Towards A Coordinated Framework Out of Europe’s Gas Dependency
Europe’s grid system cannot function without gas-fired plants that are becoming commercially unviable. Having shifted from Russian pipelines to diversified LNG supply, the EU now faces a deep gas dependency — one it has built into its own grid architecture.
Beyond Trade Defence: Europe Needs a Strategy Against Chinese Overcapacity
China’s industrial overcapacity is creating a competitiveness trap for the EU. Cheap supply lowers costs today, but weakens the industrial capacity and political room Europe needs to de-risk tomorrow.
Europe’s Energy Lifeline: Where Does the Continent Go for Fossil Fuels?
Europe needs fossil fuels. The question then is where, and from whom, Europe will get them.
After 50 Years of Trade, Europe Has Learnt to Manage Its Expectations of China
For fifty years, Europe pursued China with the conviction that trade would beget liberalisation; the last decade has been the slow, costly process of revising that assumption.
