Foreign policy & defence
Brexit and external differentiation in foreign, security and defence policy
29 September 2020
EUIDEA
This paper examines the EU’s foreign, security and defence policy relations with third countries, and their relevance to the EU’s future co-operation with the UK in these areas.
CER submission to the British government's integratered view of security, defence, development and foreign policy
21 September 2020
The CER's submission to the British government's security, defence, development and foreign policy review argues that to tackle diverse threats successfully, the UK must build strong partnerships with other democracies.
CER podcast: Tensions rising between Turkey and EU in Eastern Mediterranean
03 September 2020
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s regional ambitions and push for control of gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean have put Turkey on a collision course with the EU.
IIEA: What next for Belarus?
31 August 2020
In his webinar presentation to the IIEA, Charles Grant, director of the CER reflects on the widespread demonstrations and strike actions across Belarus which have greeted Alexander Lukashenko’s contested re-election as President, an office he has held since 1994.
The Eastern Mediterranean heats up
26 August 2020
Encompass
Summer may be drawing to a close but tensions are still heating up in the Eastern Mediterranean. A succession of dangerous military incidents between Turkey, France and Greece has raised the risk of conflict in the region.
TRT World Newsmaker: Belarus' opposition uprising
20 August 2020
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform spoke to TRT about the current situation in Belarus.
Judy asks: What is Europe’s best way forward for Belarus?
20 August 2020
Carnegie Europe
The EU should start with some humility. It holds few effective levers for influencing Belarus. It gives the government in Minsk only insignificant amounts of aid—though it is now, rightly, stepping up support for civil society.
Covid-19 makes reform of the EU’s approach towards its southern neighbours more urgent than ever
18 August 2020
LSE blog
The EU has a stated goal of promoting prosperity and stability in the Middle East and North Africa. However, its efforts to secure Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements with its southern neighbours have so far had limited success.
Europe tests the waters for a stronger defence policy: EU leaders must agree on where threats to the continent originate
13 August 2020
Financial Times
For the past four years, the EU has trumpeted its plans to invest in defence. This summer’s budget negotiations were a test of its ambitions. Now that the dust is settling, where is EU defence headed?
CER podcast: A rigged election in Belarus: Can Lukashenka cling to power?
12 August 2020
Lukashenka has rigged his re-election as president of Belarus, and begun a violent crackdown on protesters rejecting the result.
CER podcast: The EU's increasingly troubled relationship with China
29 July 2020
Growing economic tensions, COVID-19, cyber attacks, disinformation, intellectual property theft, a security clamp down in Hong Kong, treatment of the Uyghurs and restrictions on Huawei:
Europe, the US and Huawei: Do hang up!
27 July 2020
Encompass
China and the US are in conflict over trade, human rights, cyber security and much more. Europe risks getting caught in the crossfire as the US tries to prevent the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from dominating global 5G networks and China threatens retaliation against countries that shut Huawei out.
CER podcast: Belarus may be less stable than it appears
17 July 2020
Lukashenka is certain to win Belarus’s presidential election. But his suppression of dissent poses a dilemma for the EU: punishing Lukashenka could help Russia to extend its sway over the country.
London calling Huawei out
16 July 2020
Aspenia Online
After much deliberation, in mid-July the British government decided to implement restrictions on the role of controversial Chinese company Huawei in the UK’s next-generation 5G telecommunications network.
Europe must take on its own defense responsibilities
03 July 2020
Defence News
As they look at the state of their coronavirus-hit economies and U.S. President Donald Trump’s poor standing in opinion polls, many European leaders may be tempted to put on hold any plans to meet NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.
The EU must be prepared to be critical of China. It can start with Hong Kong’s security law
24 June 2020
Euronews
China’s plan to impose a new security law on Hong Kong shows that Beijing is tightening its grip on the former British colony.
Don’t let UK-EU foreign policy co-operation be collateral damage of Brexit
17 June 2020
The Times
Six months has passed since Brexit, but there has been no significant progress in the negotiations to define the future UK-EU relationship.
Europe must stand up to China before it’s too late
16 June 2020
Foreign Policy
Europe’s prosperity depends on an orderly system that ensures the global flow of goods, services, capital, and – however much populists object – labor. But 2020 is turning out to be a very bad year for the rules-based international order.
CER podcast: Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic is deepening the transatlantic rift
03 June 2020
Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic is creating new friction in the transatlantic relationship and exacerbating existing differences on China, trade and defence spending. Tensions will get worse if Trump is re-elected in November.
CER podcast: Putin hits a bad patch
06 May 2020
As 2020 started, Vladimir Putin’s economic, political and diplomatic position looked strong. Now he faces recession, an exploding COVID-19 pandemic and declining domestic support. What does that mean for the West?