The European Council on Foreign Relations

Burma is changing, so where is Ashton?

2012-01-19T09:35:34+00:00

There are encouraging signs that the junta ruling Burma is starting to reform, and the country has been visited by Hillary Clinton and several top politicians from Europe. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, also needs to pay Burma a visit, and soon.

Stop fretting about Beijing as a global policeman

2012-01-05T12:45:42+00:00

Last year was a tipping point in China's approach to the world, and expectations are rising that Beijing will shoulder ever greater responsibility on the global stage. But if China joins the US as a world policeman, should the rest of us be worried?

Ten trends for 2012

2011-12-21T09:56:20+00:00

After a frenetic 2011, what are the big trends that are going to shape Europe and the wider world in 2012? Here are ten that ECFR experts think are likely - and one widely predicted trend that we don't think will happen...

Václav Havel remembered

2011-12-19T11:02:52+00:00

A defining figure of late twentieth century Europe, Václav Havel, has died. Among his many roles he was an ECFR Council Member, and is being mourned by those who knew, respected and - sometimes - argued with him.

The EU and Algeria: reasons for hope

2011-12-14T10:24:07+00:00

Algeria did not catch fire in the year of the Arab Spring, but this does not mean that it does not deserve the attention of the EU. Algeria needs to reform if it is to remain stable, and it needs European help to do so.

The beginning of the end for Putin?

2011-12-06T10:25:22+00:00

Russia's election results are bad news for Putin for two reasons. Firstly United Russia did badly despite the election being biased in its favour, and secondly it shows that Putin can no longer rely on an apathetic population.

How not to intervene in Syria

2011-12-02T13:59:33+00:00

The hunt is on for ways to offer security and aid to Syrian civilians, but the risk of any military-humanitarian mission backfiring is high. The lessons of Darfur are that any peacekeepers would be targeted, especially as the unrest turns into full-scale war.

China’s desert-dance in Libya

2011-10-31T16:45:21+00:00

As its international profile and interests grow, China's foreign policies - now those of a great power - are coming under increasing scrutiny. Here are the four fault lines that are forming in how Beijing deals with the world.

Why enlargement-lite will not save the Arab Spring

2011-10-25T09:30:08+00:00

The European Union has a vital role to play in helping consolidate the transitions of the Arab Spring. But first they need to rethink their approach and develop a new foreign policy for the Southern neighbourhood: Enlargement lite will not work.

European failure and how to avoid it

2011-10-18T14:59:33+00:00

The European Union’s combination of crises - of finance, politics, and identity - makes the once unthinkable a real prospect: Europe is not "too big to fail". What then should concerned Europeans do to ensure their continent's survival and progress?

The Tymoshenko verdict

2011-10-11T14:01:26+00:00

The EU's credibility is at stake over the sentencing of Yuliya Tymoshenko to seven years imprisonment. Unless there are signals from Kiev that the sentence will be reviewed or repealled, the EU must act.

Can the EU do less good in the world?

2011-07-25T08:49:15+00:00

Understandably, European governments are rethinking their aid budgets in the light of the economic crisis. But any cuts to aid and foreign ministry budgets should be judged according to results rather than a simple cost calculation.

A memo to Ban Ki-moon

2011-06-30T08:27:57+00:00

Dear Secretary-General, contratulations on winning a second five year term at the United Nations. Here are the issues that you will have to concentrate on, beginning with the immediate concerns of Libya, the wider Middle East and Sudan.

Falling into the same old traps: France’s response to Morocco’s new constitution

2011-06-22T08:57:29+00:00

The Arab Spring forced the EU to pledge change in the way it promotes human rights around the world. But Sarkozy's response to Moroccan King Mohammed VI's limited promises of constitutional reform this week suggest an alarming return to interest-driven business as usual.

South Sudan & Palestine could heat up the UN’s summer

2011-05-25T09:46:00+00:00

The reputation of the UN and Ban Ki-moon may hinge upon the outcome in two of the world's trouble spots - South Sudan and Palestine. South Sudan in particular remains a crucial test of the institution's ability to handle weak states.

Bin Laden’s Death – The End of the Global War on Terror?

2011-05-03T12:50:25+00:00

The killing of Osama bin Laden will have a significant impact on both al-Qaeda and the fight against Islamic terrorism by the US and its allies. President Obama now has the task - and the opportunity - to rethink how the US is conducting that fight.

The EU and the Southern neighbourhood in 2010

2011-04-01T12:26:04+00:00

European countries are playing a central role in the Libyan intervention, and the EU is looking to help the transitions in Tunisia and Egypt. But before Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire, setting off the sequence of protests, how well did Europe perform when dealing with its southern neighbourhood last year?

Europe as a world power

2011-03-30T12:30:16+00:00

Agreement over Europe's performance is not the aim of ECFR's European Foreign Policy Scorecard. The aim is to encourage serious debate about the goals, tools, resources, difficult trade offs and moral dilemmas of Europe's foreign policy - even if that means that readers strongly disagree with our conclusions.

Libya: time to focus on the outcomes

2011-03-16T12:23:30+00:00

It is time to get real about Libya. All the huffing and puffing of Western leaders has yet to bring Gaddafi’s house crashing down. Instead, European leaders must think about what realistic outcomes they might be able to help achieve.

What Europe needs to do on Libya

2011-02-25T15:17:15+00:00

The EU needs to act on Libya. If it doesn't, the consequences for Europe – in terms of migration, energy revenues and support for terrorism – could be disasterous. Here are eight concrete steps that European leaders should consider taking.

Europe and Tunisia: After complicity, complacency

2011-02-25T10:31:12+00:00

Tunisians see Europe as complicit with the old regime of President Ben Ali, and were disappointed by the slow reaction of European leaders to their revolution. But they are willing to forgive, if their neighbours to the north makes amends by offering prompt and generous help as they rebuild their country.

Don’t abandon Tunisia

2011-02-25T08:36:14+00:00

Tunisia's democrats have made an amazing start, after launching the wave of popular uprisings that are continuing to rock the Arab world. But they worry that the world will forget them as they embark upon the massive project of rebuilding a new Tunisia.

Rebuilding Libya

2011-02-23T15:45:55+00:00

Libya is in chaos, and Colonel Gaddafi seems determined to hang on to power at any expense. But he has already lost control of large swathes of the country, the security forces and bureaucracy, and it is not premature to start planning for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

Taming Libya’s mad dog

2011-02-22T16:52:39+00:00

If there ever was a need and an opportunity for Europe to show its muscles, Colonel Gaddafi is providing one. The test is a different one for the EU after the turmoil in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond, but European leaders can no longer look the other way.

The Middle East needs Germany

2011-02-18T11:28:29+00:00

The fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt has not so much given Israel a headache as a migraine. Europe - and Germany in particular - needs to play a leading role in reassuring Israel and keeping Middle East peace on track.

Post-colonial Europe

2011-02-16T09:03:52+00:00

The crises in Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia have exposed the strategic challenge for France now that its former sphere of influence appears to be collapsing. But a post-colonial Europe still has the ability to affect African affairs.

Britain on Russia: Adrift in Europe

2011-02-14T11:38:45+00:00

As Sergei Lavrov visits London, Britain needs to rethink its approach to Russia if it is to benefit from strong economic ties with Moscow. This need not mean that it has to compromise on its tough stance on human rights issues, provided it tries to push for a more united EU voice on Russia.

Who Lost the Eastern Mediterranean?

2011-02-07T09:03:20+00:00

For all the talk of a 'global Europe', the EU struggles to influence its neighbours in the Eastern Mediterranean. Its uncertainty over Egypt is indicative of a wider loss of direction in the EU's regional policies.

Europe must stand behind Egypt’s democrats

2011-02-04T10:26:39+00:00

Europe went through its own year of democratic revolutions in 1989, yet its reaction to events in north Africa has lacked passion and purpose. European leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels must seize the opportunity to commit themselves to a strategy that puts them firmly on the side of democracy in the Middle East.

Don’t just speak with one voice: Act!

2011-02-01T09:17:15+00:00

EU member states worry too much about speaking with one voice. But endless unified expressions of 'interest and concern' about the situation in Tunisia and Egypt show that the problem is that others aren't listening because we often have little to say.