NATO and EU defence policy
TRT World: NATO leaders meet in Brussels to discuss conflict response
24 March 2022
An emergency summit of NATO leaders is taking place in Brussels. They’re expected to discuss ways of bolstering the alliance’s support for Ukraine, while also looking to put more pressure on Russia. Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER weighs in on possible outcomes.
The EU's geopolitical awakening?
03 March 2022
UK in a changing Europe
The EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took many observers by surprise. For once, the Union exceeded expectations, and by a large margin.
BBC World News: Russian invasion of Ukraine
27 February 2022
Ian Bond spoke to BBC World News on EU sanctions and the big step of paying for lethal equipment to Ukraine and sanctions on Russian banks via SWIFT.
BBC World News: Russia vetoes UN resolution deploring invasion of Ukraine
26 February 2022
Zach Meyers spoke to BBC World News and explained that UK/US were prepared to cut off Russian banks from USD/GBP clearing, devastating Russia's ability to trade internationally - but EU sanctions still allow much trade with Russia.
Newstalk: Reaction on the Russian invasion of Ukraine
25 February 2022
Sobering analysis from Ian Bond on why we have to be honest about the prospects for a Ukrainian insurgency. "The Russians have a record of extraordinary brutality in suppressing insurgencies in Chechnya & Syria - bombing everything that moves and intimidating."
iNews 24: EU agrees to freeze assets linked to Putin
25 February 2022
Camino Mortera-Martinez says the EU is preparing to welcome an influx of refugees from Ukraine. She emphasises that Poland not asking for COVID passports or even ID cards shows this crisis is truly unprecedented
CER podcast: The Russia-Ukraine crisis as seen from Kyiv and Paris
16 February 2022
Ian Bond speaks to Marie Dumoulin and Khrystyna Parandii about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Ask CER - Episode 3: Strategic autonomy, the EU's taxonomy and the French election
26 January 2022
You asked, we answered: the third episode of our ‘Ask CER’ podcast series.
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?
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.
Internal strife: NATO's greatest enemy is itself as it turns 70
05 April 2019
Euronews
NATO’s first Secretary General, Lord Hastings Ismay, famously said the alliance’s purpose was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down.”
Stammtisch: Going the distance - Transatlantic relations today
05 April 2019
Germany has headed to New York to take its seat on the UN Security Council - while Barack Obama has come to Germany. Damien McGuinness and DW's Fabian von der Mark chat US-German relations with former US government advisor Julie Smith and NATO expert Sophia Besch from the Centre for European Reform.
NATO at 70: Where next?
03 April 2019
Politico
As member nations gather to celebrate NATO's 70th anniversary this week, Politico asked experts to forecast what the military alliance will look like 10 years from now.
The Zeitgeist: German and European security at a crossroads
21 March 2019
In this episode of The Zeitgeist, Dr Jana Puglierin (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e.V. ) and Sophia Besch (Centre for European Reform ) join Jeff Rathke to talk about the direction Germany’s security policy is taking. They cover four fundamental questions: What is Germany’s role in European security? Are the changes in German policy adequate for the changing international security environment? How are Germany and France seeking to strengthen their co-operation? And how can the United States and Germany manage their frictions in the interest of a stronger transatlantic relationship?
All hands on deck
27 February 2019
Berlin Policy Journal
Concerns about fragmentation shape Berlin’s understanding of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy. That carries risks, especially with Brexit approaching.
Brexit negotiations in the field of defence: Lessons learnt and moving forward
08 January 2019
Federal Academy for Security Policy
It is clearly in Britain and the European Union’s mutual interest to continue working closely together on defence after Brexit.
NATO's cyber pledge
21 November 2018
E!Sharp
NATO’s primary and most urgent cyber task is the protection its own communications systems and networks. But the alliance also offers training opportunities and tried to make information sharing between allies easier, in order to help capitals to protect their sytems and ‘critical’ networks from attacks.
Judy Asks: Is Trump wrong about NATO?
11 July 2018
Carnegie Europe
A selection of experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey on the foreign and security policy challenges shaping Europe’s role in the world.
BBC World Service: Trump: NATO Allies 'delinquent'
11 July 2018
Sophia Besch a research fellow a the Centre for European Reform spoke to the BBC World Service about how US relations with its NATO allies are “at an absolute low point. The European allies seem traumatised and shocked. …I personally think there is very little that they can do to convince Trump of the NATO value but we will see how they get on over the next 48 hours.” (from 37:53 mins).