The EU has spent the best part of 20 months working on its ‘Strategic Compass’ for security and defence, yet the war in Ukraine and the threat environment around Europe pose serious questions. If the Compass is to move from just another EU document to credible action, EU member states need to step up their […]
Afghanistan
The issue of foreign policy was virtually absent from the German election campaign. Once again, one might say. In the 2017 election campaign and in the light of the refugee crisis, domestic politics already played a much bigger role in politics and the media. Topics such as security policy or Europe only appeared in the […]
The brutal enormity of the Afghan crisis with the return of the Taliban to Kabul has shaken the world. Following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban’s subsequent rapid takeover of the country and the collapse of the Afghan government in mid-August, a political, humanitarian and security crisis has unfolded. Right […]
Over time, the concept of European strategic autonomy has come to encapsulate the EU’s desire to chart its own (foreign) policy course according to its own laws, interests, and values. At risk of being sucked into the emerging whirlpool of intensifying global competition, if not unbridled US-China rivalry, the case for such an objective seems […]
The debate about the EU’s strategic autonomy has picked up again – not least because the sudden US-withdrawal from Afghanistan in September 2021 surprised Europeans in such a bad way. One reason for this was the insufficient communication and coordination of Europe’s most important ally, the US. The second reason is that it made very […]
A remarkable public consultation is under way which will determine the future of Europe for the coming years – if not decades. Citizens are discussing how green our future should be, and what to do to protect democracy inside and outside the European Union. Preserving economic competitiveness, but at the same time strengthening social cohesion, […]