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New ECFR report | Rome’s moment: Draghi, multilateralism, and Italy’s new strategy
Under Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy is focused on dealing with the pandemic while promoting Italian and European interests as president of the G20 and co-chair of COP26. The Draghi government is shifting the priorities of Italian foreign policy towards the European Union, the transatlantic relationship, and multilateralism more broadly. Draghi’s Italy will work primarily alongside other EU member states – particularly on health security, climate, and economic and infrastructure development – but could also act as a bridge between competing great powers. In doing so, Italy has an opportunity to position itself closer to the Franco-German engine and to help construct a multilateral system in which the EU and…
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The gulf between them: What Gulf countries can learn from Iran’s approach to Iraq
. Key take-aways: Iran adopts a strategically pragmatic approach to Iraq, cooperating widely to maximise its influence while working hard to retain vital Iraqi economic support, especially vis-à-vis its rivalry with the US. In contrast, Arab Gulf states’ approaches to Iraq have been stop-start – although Iraq’s own weak governance also contributes to this. Europeans should encourage Arab Gulf states to act more strategically on Iraq by strengthening their ties in the country. An Iraq that has diverse regional relationships is more likely to be stable and secure, in line with European interests in the Middle East. The Arab Gulf states are leagues behind Iran in the scale, scope, and significance of their relations with Iraq. These states remain cautious about…
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Europe risks losing battle over digital infrastructure to US and China
. Key take-aways: Undersea internet cables are as important as gas and oil pipelines – like the Nord Stream 2 project – and are a focus of growing geopolitical rivalry between the US and China throughout the EU’s wider neighbourhood. China and the US have different approaches but are racing ahead of the EU in terms of their influence over internet infrastructure and the states that depend on it. The EU has the ambition and potential to become digitally sovereign, but it lacks an all-encompassing strategy for the sector, in which individual governments are still the key players. The EU should set industry standards, help European telecommunications companies win business abroad, and protect internet infrastructure against…
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Europe’s green moment: How to meet the climate challenge
New ECFR data shows Europeans are divided on climate, but there are clear pathways to underpin European engagement with climate geopolitics. EU member states are publicly committed to the European Green Deal but are divided over the details of its implementation. They have different views on issues such as the proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism, the role of nuclear energy in Europe’s future energy mix, bridging technologies in the transition to net zero, and the socio-economic consequences of closing down carbon-intensive industries. Member states are not divided into two diametrically opposed camps but rather agree or disagree with one another in varying constellations. This makes the implementation of the…
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ECFR analysis: How the EU should cooperate with Indo-Pacific partners
Today, the EU approved conclusions on an EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region spanning from the east coast of Africa to the Pacific island states. According to its official statement the EU wants to “contribute to regional stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development, at a time of rising challenges and tensions in the region.” “The Council’s conclusions are a step in the right direction. But it does reflect the ambivalence of the member states vis-à-vis China. Every single issue addressed in the text refers at least obliquely to China, but the latter is never mentioned. It is now up to the Commission and the High Representative to…
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How Europe can rebuild multilateralism after covid-19
The pandemic has brought forward a new agenda for multilateralism, focused on areas including global health, economic recovery, climate, technology and trade. The EU should pursue a twin-track strategy, seeking to revitalise institutions that include rival powers while promoting deeper cooperation with like-minded countries. Europe should launch an initiative to build up global vaccine manufacturing and encourage free movement of medical goods and set up a “preparedness club” of countries committed to transparency in their health systems. In his latest report “How Europe can rebuild multilateralism after covid-19” ECFR’s research director and senior policy fellow Anthony Dworkin sets out how the covid-19 pandemic has led to a new agenda for…
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Back to democracy: Europe, Hamas, and the Palestinian Elections
. Palestinian elections are on track to take place during the coming months – for the first time in over a decade. The EU and the US have a decisive role to play in ensuring the electoral process succeeds. In doing so, they can support Palestinian political renewal and improve prospects for a sustainable peace agreement with Israel. Within Hamas, moderates have gambled on elections. The movement – along with Fatah – is looking for new avenues for political engagement given the increasingly inauspicious regional and international context. The EU and the US must: commit to respecting the outcome of elections; persuade Israel to support a free, fair, and inclusive…
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EU’s digital decade: ECFR’s tech experts available for comment and interview
Without its own digital capacities and autonomy, the EU will struggle to face the US and China in what has become a geopolitical technology competition. As the EU Commission today unveils its plans for the bloc’s ‚Digital Decade‘, the European Council on Foreign Relations is launching its Technology and European Power initiative based on four pillars assessing the geopolitical implications of emerging technologies for Europe and how the EU can respond to them: Sovereignty: On key technologies ranging from AI to cloud computing and from microchips to quantum computing, ECFR will answer how the EU must reduce its vulnerabilities and shore up its own capacities. Cohesion: A common understanding…
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Deutschsprachige ECFR-Expert*innen zu außenpolitischen Themen
Wie kann Berlin Europas Russland-Politik stärken? Wie müssen Deutschland gemeinsam mit Frankreich und Großbritannien dem Iran gegenüber auftreten? Wie soll sich die deutsche Regierung mit Blick auf die EU-China-Beziehungen positionieren? Die Expert*innen der pan-europäischen Denkfabrik European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) erklären die außenpolitischen Debatten unserer Zeit aus der Perspektive einflussreicher EU-Staaten – und ordnen sie angesichts der sich verändernden Weltordnung ein. Von Berlin und anderen europäischen Hauptstädten aus kommentieren unsere deutschsprachigen Expert*innen internationale Entwicklungen mit Relevanz für die deutsche Politik. Sie stehen Fernseh- und Radiostationen sowie Print- und Onlinemedien für Interviews, Kommentare und Analysen gerne zur Verfügung: Unsere deutschsprachigen Expert*innen: Piotr Buras, Leiter des Warschauer ECFR-Büros Themen: Deutschlands EU- und…
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ECFR polling and analysis ahead of this week’s european council
As European leaders prepare to meet this week to discuss the EU’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, its preparedness for other health threats, and issues surrounding the bloc’s security and defence, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) shares details of polling and analysis across the agreed agenda. POLLING: In a recent pan-European survey, of more than 15,000 citizens in ten EU member states (plus the UK), ECFR found: Europeans were becoming more positive about the EU before last month’s vaccination programme misstep. In Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden – countries where ECFR conducted a poll in both 2019 and 2020 – the average share of people…
