Jean Pisani-Ferry - 26 February 2020

It can be tempting to treat European budgetary discussions as a fairly inconsequential distributional game. But with the EU’s role increasingly focused on the provision of public goods, in accordance with its values and priorities, this would be a mistake.

Andrés Ortega - 25 February 2020

The EU is proposing a process of digital decolonisation, aiming to reduce its dependency on US and Chinese firms.

Ulrike Esther Franke - 25 February 2020

This year’s Munich Security Conference showed once again that just two players will fight the global battle over tech. And guess who’s missing.

Mark Leonard - 24 February 2020

After years of watching the United Kingdom muddle through a political crisis while enjoying an unprecedented level of unity among themselves, Europeans now must prepare for darker days.

Jana Puglierin - 20 February 2020

To hope that German defence policy will become more French is equivalent to waiting for Godot.

 

Mark Leonard - 19 February 2020

The 2020 Munich Security Conference showed how the ties that bind global players together are being weaponised in a new great power competition.

 

Janka Oertel - 18 February 2020

Bipartisan US pressure over China is rubbing Europeans up the wrong way. But the Americans are right that hard choices await.

You better bring a book – the start of the EU’s lengthy budget talks

Negotiations over the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021 – 2027 just have started. But as tensions and divergences between the EU member states are rising, a final agreement seems considerably far away for now. The European Union is subject to a series of unprecedented constraints, the most significant one being the UK’s departure and the withdrawal of the money it once granted. Still, the implications of the budget allocation are manifold and extremely far-reaching. It will affect major themes which stand at the very basis of the Union and its future role on the global stage, such as national sovereignty, climate and innovation. Our Director Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR co-chair and director of the Danish think tank EUROPA Lykke Friis, as well as ECFR experts Jonathan Hackenbroich and Pawel Zerka to dissect the ongoing status of the discussions.

This podcast was recorded on 25 February 2020.

Inspired by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, here are some recommendations by our podcast crew on what to read during the long hours of MFF negotiations:

Bookshelf:

• "Den nya oredans tid" by Carl Bildt
• "The three escapes by Hannah Arendt" by Ken Krimstein
• "The books of Jacob" by Olga Tokarczuk
• "Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System" by Barry Eichengreen 
• "Håbets Europa" by Lykke Friis
• "En kuffert i Berlin: Rejse i Angela Merkels Tyskland" by Lykke Friis

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Feeling the Westlessness at the Munich Security Conference 2020

The annual Munich Security Conference was themed "Westlessness", defining “a widespread feeling of uneasiness and restlessness in the face of increasing uncertainty about the enduring purpose of the West”. Is the West becoming less relevant in global affairs? Are the West’s international partnerships endangered? And if so, what will the world look like in the future? Our Director Mark Leonard is joined by an all-star ECFR cast including Janka Oertel, Ulrike Franke, Ellie Geranmayeh and Jeremy Shapiro, for a very special episode recorded straight from the MSC – and covering everything from 5G, China, Iran and the future of Europe’s transatlantic relationship.

This podcast was recorded on 15 February 2020.

Further Reading

• Land of the lost: My trip to the Munich Security Conference by Jeremy Shapiro
• Europe, 5G, and Munich: The China challenge and American mission by Janka Oertel
• ​Facing the West’s Demons: The 2020 Munich Security Conference by Mark Leonard
• ​Westlessness: Lessons from the Western Balkans by Majda Ruge
• Charm defensive: Macron and the Germans at the Munich Security Conference by Jana Puglierin
   

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To Huawei or not to Huawei?

Last week the European Commission published its EU Toolbox on 5G Cyber Security, with the aim of aiding the member states in evaluating the risks associated with future usage of 5G infrastructure and networks. This was a step forward given the polarising debate surrounding the role of Chinese telecommunications firms like Huawei and ZTE within a future 5G network in Europe. The decision, however, will ultimately be a national one taken by individual member states. Our Director Mark Leonard is joined by Asia Programme Director Janka Oertel and Project Director of Stiftung Neue Verantwortung Jan-Peter Kleinhans to discuss the significance and implications of the toolbox and what this might mean for the EU.

This podcast was recorded on 5 February 2020.

Bookshelf:

• "The logic of strategic assets" by Jeffrey Ding and Allan Dafoe
• "The Path to Power" by Robert Caro
• "Clash of Empires: Currencies and Power in a Multipolar World" by Charles Gave and Louis Vincent Gave
• "All the Names" by Jose Saramago

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Can Europe catch up in the digitalisation and innovation race?

During the Munich Strategy Forum 2019, host Mark Leonard sat down Toomas Ilves, the former president of Estonia aka the first smart country and “digital nation” in the world. What could we learn from this small EU member state when it comes to digitalisation? How did the digital revolution change foreign relations and international relations? And what role does Europe play it in? Frankly, does it play any role at all? Toomas Ilves points out how the lack of a common digital market puts the EU behind in advancing innovation and digitalisation in the 21st century. He urges Europe to finally merge the “two cultures” of sciences/tech and humanities to become a digital player in the world.

This podcast was recorded on 2 December 2019.

Bookshelf:

• "Two cultures" by C.P. Snow
• "LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media" by Peter W. Singer
• "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for the Future at the New Frontier of Power" by Shoshana Zuboff

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Multilateralism is dead – long live multilateralism!

Today, 100 years ago, the Versailles Contract went into effect which established the League of the Nations and laid the foundations for multilateralism. In 2019, Germany and France launched the Alliance for Multilateralism aiming at showing that countries still "support multilateralism and support the United Nations (to) remain the majority in the world," as French Foreign Minister Le Drian said. Planning to establish a network of countries ready to join forces and efforts on inequality or climate change, the Alliance also wants the members to strongly commit to a rules-based international order. But how will this look like in reality? Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, explains to Mark Leonard some concrete measures and how the old tale of the German-Franco friendship still serves as a role model for other countries for how to overcome decades of conflicts and rivalry.
Further information: www.multilateralism.org

This podcast was recorded on 3 December 2019.

Bookshelf:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Ten Foreign Policy Trends for 2020

‘Tis the season! ...when Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro review the year gone by and predict 10 foreign policy trends (plus two bonus ones) that will define 2020, the beginning of a new decade.
With a score of 6.5/10 they couldn’t sustain last year’s success but can still pat themselves on their backs - or what do you think? Let us know about your foreign policy predictions for the upcoming year.
Comment below or e-mail us!

This podcast was recorded on 16 December 2019.

Bookshelf:

• Ten Foreign Policy Trends for 2020 by Mark Leonard & Jeremy Shapiro
• Mapping European Leverage in the MENA region by the ECFR MENA Programme:

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1989 – the beginning of history

In the 1990s 13 out 15 European countries were led by social democratic governments and the transatlantic relationship came out strong by “winning the Cold War”. The fall of Berlin Wall and dissolution of the Soviet Union was considered as a turning point for Europe’s future and it symbolized the greatest common achievement of US and Europe at that time. But since then, EU-US relations and most of the social democratic parties in Europe have been deteriorating. Did the West underestimate the forces of liberalism and globalisation which took European states by storm? In this episode, Sylvie Kauffmann with host Mark Leonard untangles some of the many interconnections and which 1989 provoked or brought to light.

This podcast was recorded on 4 December 2019.

Bookshelf:

• Sylvie Kauffmann's article series in Le Monde (in French)
  • (1/4) Qui a perdu la Russie?
  • (2/4) Comment la chut de l’URSS a bouleversé l’Occident
  • (3/4) La revanche de la Chine
  • (4/4) La social-démocratie, continent englouti
•  "Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy" by Andrei Kozyrev

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ECFR - 13 November 2019

ECFR - 13 November 2019

ECFR - 22 May 2019

An exclusive ECFR Madrid interview with Josep Borrell, Spanish Foreign Minister and lead PSOE candidate for the European Parliament elections, on the European Union and his vision for it

Ivan Krastev - 09 May 2019

Ivan Krastev talks from Warsaw on how voters in many EU countries are more worried about nationals leaving the country than about foreigners coming in, as a recent ECFR survey shows.

Mark Leonard - 26 April 2019

Mark Leonard participates in a debate organised by The Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI) in London.

José Ignacio Torreblanca - 08 April 2019

ECFR Madrid sits down with former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González to discuss topics such as the state of the European Union ahead of May's European Parliament elections, the rise of Eurosceptic parties, Brexit, and relations with the US and Russia.

- 21 March 2019

Berlin - 02 Mar 20

We welcome you to join us when Anu Bradford presents her new book on the Brussels effect - a refreshingly positive perspective on the EUs dominant role in the world of trade and regulation.

Berlin - 04 Mar 20

Experts present a report on the effectiveness and downfalls of the sanctions that were imposed on Russia by the European Union and the United States in the aftermath of the illegal annexation of Crimea. 

Berlin - 21 Feb 20

Thema des ersten Foreign Policy Clubs im neuen Jahr ist die 5G-Debatte und Europas Souveränität in den Bereichen des Technologie und digitalen Entwicklung. Mit Dr. Janka Oertel.

London - 11 Feb 20

A breakfast discussion on the peace options in Libya following the Berlin conference.

London - 21 Jan 20

A lunch discussion on Iran-US tensions following the assassination of General Soleimani

Berlin - 20 Jan 20

ECFR´s associate researchers come together to debate the upcoming challenges the EU is facing in 2020. Come and join the debate!

Warsaw - 12 Dec 19

Warsaw - 12 Dec 19

Jak Europa może zareagować na obecny kryzys multilateralizmu i znaleźć sojuszników w obronie jego kluczowych instytucji?

Paris - 28 Nov 19

Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à une table ronde en présence de Jeremy Shapiro, Pierre Vimont et Sylvie Kauffmann.