European Strategic Policy Unit
Euro Prospects — Think Tank
European Strategic Policy Unit
ESP is Euro Prospects’ dedicated think tank. We produce forward-facing, policy-actionable analysis on European strategic sovereignty across defence, technology, trade, energy, industry, and digital infrastructure.
“Europe is facing one of its most consequential geopolitical dilemmas in nearly a century. Whatever policy trajectories are chosen now will have immense ramifications on Europe’s role in tomorrow’s world.”
Policy Briefs
Free and open access — no paywall.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Founding Statement
Europe is facing its most consequential geopolitical dilemmas since the end of World War II. Whatever policy trajectories are chosen now will have immense ramifications on Europe’s role in tomorrow’s world. The EU, as Europe’s political embodiment, must set the continent on a course of strategic sovereignty with a goal of safeguarding its foundational values.
Our Mission
The European Strategic Policy Unit (ESP) is Euro Prospects’ (EP’s) dedicated think tank. It exists to produce provocative and policy-actionable analysis on European strategic sovereignty, contributing to the debate on how the EU can strengthen its position across all critical fields, including trade, defence, technology, finance, energy, industry, health, and digital infrastructure.
ESP within Euro Prospects
ESP is one of EP’s seven sections but operates with special independence and a unique format, mission, and agenda. It produces EP’s highest quality content. Unlike EP’s editorial section, ESP only produces think-tank material (recommendation-based policy briefs, not journalistic articles), its membership is uniquely selective, and is EP’s flagship policy face.
The Founding Cohort
We bring together 10 analysts—students and young professionals—to provide fact-driven policy solutions to Europe’s strategic challenges.
Giulia Convertini
Digital Systems Sovereignty
Finn Sands Robinson
Trade & Industrial Strategy
Rimsha Arif
Energy Market Resilience
Matilde Minetti
EU-China Strategic Competition
Orla Harris
Digital Infrastructure Sovereignty
Jerfi Wigley
Supply Chain Resilience
Annika Gerbig
Defence Industrial Autonomy
Trinabh Banerjee
Strategic Digital Security
Luka Okropirashvili
Eastern Neighbourhood
Juan Carlos Leunissen
Transport & Energy Connectivity
Headed by Francesco Bernabeu Fornara, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Euro Prospects
Follow ESP’s Work’s Work
Our policy briefs are published free of charge. Follow Euro Prospects on LinkedIn to receive new briefs as they are published and to join the debate on European strategic sovereignty.
