Research
China's European charm offensive: Silk Road or Silk Rope?
27 November 2015
China is building closer relations with European countries, offering investments to all. EU member-states should welcome China’s contribution, without abandoning European values and interests.
Merkel after Paris
20 November 2015
Merkel's relatively open and liberal stance on refugees makes it easier for her to respond robustly to the attacks in France through security and foreign policy.
Terrorism in Paris: Aux armes, citoyens?
17 November 2015
The West should draw the right lessons from the Paris attacks. A military response to Daesh in Syria must be combined with better European intelligence co-operation.
In-work benefits for EU migrants: How the British government dug itself into a hole
10 November 2015
The UK could make both Britons and EU migrants wait four years before having access to in-work benefits, but the ECJ might still rule it illegal.
The EU Energy Union: More than the sum of its parts?
09 November 2015
An Energy Union built around EU-wide gas and electricity networks will help produce cheaper, greener and more secure energy for Europe.
25 years on: How the euro's architects erred
05 November 2015
The original plans for the euro – conceived 25 years ago – suffered from five major flaws. Only some of these flaws have been fixed.
Changing the guard in Poland but not much change for Cameron?
28 October 2015
Poland’s new government may share Cameron’s euroscepticism, but it will not support all his reform ideas – especially if they discriminate against Poles.
Cameron's EU gamble: Five reforms he can win, and ten pitfalls he must avoid
23 October 2015
Cameron's package of EU reforms will not be exciting. He could lose the referendum, because of the EU's many problems and the weakness of Britain's pro-Europeans.
Gain or more pain in Spain?
19 October 2015
Spain is no poster child for austerity and structural reforms. The recovery is less than it appears and the country faces some formidable challenges.
Power to the parliaments! But will Cameron's EU partners join his crusade?
16 October 2015
David Cameron wants parliaments to have a greater say in the EU. But member-states have little appetite to give national chambers powers to block Commission proposals.
EU foreign policy co-operation: A millstone or a multiplier for the UK?
12 October 2015
Submission to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee inquiry on the costs and benefits of EU membership for the UK's role in the world.
By participating actively in EU foreign policy co-operation, the UK can get 27 other countries to take co-ordinated actions aligned with British aims. It could...
By participating actively in EU foreign policy co-operation, the UK can get 27 other countries to take co-ordinated actions aligned with British aims. It could...
Beware of cheap oil!
07 October 2015
Europe’s economies welcome the collapse of oil prices. But serious foreign policy problems await if oil remains cheap.
With or without you: Will Catalonia be Europe's next crisis?
30 September 2015
Catalonia’s elections caused more problems than they solved. Spain and Catalonia need to start a dialogue to reform Spain’s model of regional government. Otherwise, Catalonia will become Europe’s next crisis.
The insoluble Syrian problem: Only wrong answers?
29 September 2015
No-one, including Putin, has a peace plan for Syria. The EU should stop pursuing unrealistic military and political aims and focus on helping the war’s victims.
Issue 104 - 2015
25 September 2015
- Jeremy Corbyn and the rise of groupthink, John Springford
- Eastern mess: The EU's partners need attention, Ian Bond
- Will the eurozone reap what it has sown?, Simon Tilford
Jeremy Corbyn and the rise of groupthink
24 September 2015
Jeremy Corbyn's rise to the Labour leadership heralds an era of ideological contest that threatens Britain's membership of the EU – and the United Kingdom itself.
Eastern mess: The EU's partners need attention
24 September 2015
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed EU association agreements in 2014, but reforms are now stalling. The EU needs to push the three governments to do more.
Will the eurozone reap what it has sown?
24 September 2015
The slowdown in emerging markets leaves the eurozone even more reliant on exports to the US and UK to compensate for its feeble domestic economy.
The battle for reform in Kyiv
16 September 2015
The government in Kyiv has introduced some important reforms. But vested interests and corruption are thwarting its efforts to modernise the state and the economy.
Europe’s refugee crisis: Chronicle of a death foretold
08 September 2015
To solve the refugee crisis, the EU should adopt a strategy that combines foreign policy and integration schemes. It should also reform its asylum law.