A Critical Juncture: EU’s Venezuela Policy Following the War in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine accelerated a global energy crisis just as the world was beginning to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Venezuela has the largest crude oil and the eighth largest gas reserves in the world and can therefore offer an alternative for Europe to replace its fossil fuels imports from Russia. The problem is, […]
Brief/ A Critical Juncture: EU’s Venezuela Policy Following the War in Ukraine by Anna Ayuso, Tiziano Breda, Elsa Lilja Gunnarsdottir and Marianne Riddervold
EU’s goal in Venezuela has been to promote a negotiated democratic transition, but it has been unable to foster it. The change of the US Venezuela policy under Biden, the shift towards the left in most new Latin American governments, and EU’s need to diversify its energy supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have provided an opening […]
Paper/ How to Reduce the Impact of Internal Contestation, Regional Fragmentation and Multipolar Competition on EU Foreign and Security Policy by Sarah van Bentum et al.
In this JOINT Paper, Sarah van Bentum (Freie Universität Berlin – FUB), Caterina Bedin (Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique – FRS), Zachary Paikin (Centre for European Policy Studies – CEPS), Gregor Walter-Drop (FUB), Steven Blockmans (CEPS), Agnès Levallois (FRS) & Tiffany Guendouz (FRS) outline strategies that may help to mitigate the negative impact of internal contestation, […]
How to Reduce the Impact of Internal Contestation, Regional Fragmentation and Multipolar Competition on EU Foreign and Security Policy
In a Union of 27 member states, differences in (geo)political interests, socio-economic realities, historical trajectories and national identity construction constantly threaten the internal unity and thus also the external coherence of EUFSP. The following three factors and their mutually reinforcing interplay appear to have a significant impact on the creation and shaping of EU foreign […]
Podcast/ Multipolar Competition’s Impact on EU Foreign Policy: Lessons from Ukraine, Iran and the South China Sea
Recent years have witnessed the return of competition between the world’s most powerful states, which is exerting a significant impact on EU foreign and security policy and constraining the EU’s room for manoeuvre as well. The advent of an increasingly multipolar world also raises questions about the reach of the EU’s interests and influence — […]
Brief/ Resolving Libya’s Legitimacy Crisis: 2023 Elections as a Pathway for Peace and Democratisation? by Happi Cynthia
Libya is in dire need of a legitimate administration to take it a step away from political stagnation and division from which all Libyan institutions suffer. In this JOINT Brief, Happi Cynthia (Institute for Peace and Security Studies – IPSS) discusses UN Special Representative Bathily’s initiative aimed at holding Lybia’s presidential and legislative elections in […]
Resolving Libya’s Legitimacy Crisis: 2023 Elections as a Pathway for Peace and Democratisation?
Beyond having an internationally recognised government, Libya is in dire need of a legitimate administration to take it a step away from political stagnation and division. A legal framework and a roadmap associated with a timetable for Libya’s elections in 2023 is therefore paramount, although caution is required – as to not be too hasty. […]
Paper/ Tackling the Constraints on EU Foreign Policy towards Ukraine: From Strategic Denial to Geopolitical Awakening by Kristi Raik, Steven Blockmans, Assem Dandashly, Gergana Noutcheva, Anna Osypchuk and Anton Suslov
EU-Ukraine relations have been overshadowed by tightening geopolitical competition with Russia ever since 2004. This JOINT Report, by Kristi Raik (International Centre for Defence and Security- ICDS), Steven Blockmans (Centre for European Policy Studies- CEPS), Assem Dandashly, Gergana Noutcheva (Maastricht University), Anna Osypchuk and Anton Suslov (School for Policy Analysis, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy- […]
Tackling the Constraints on EU Foreign Policy towards Ukraine: From Strategic Denial to Geopolitical Awakening
This report explores the evolution of EU policy towards Ukraine, with major turning points occurring in 2004, 2014 and February 2022 when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started. The dominant constraining factor in the case of Ukraine was multipolar (or rather bipolar) competition between the EU and Russia over the European political, economic and security […]
Ethiopia and the Tigray War: Limits and Challenges of EU Policy in a Fragmented and Contested Region
The Horn of Africa is a main item in the Africa policy of the European Union. The EU and its member states have traditionally considered Ethiopia, due to its population, economic size and military capacities, the strategic partner for regional stability. This assumption has led the Europeans to turn a blind eye to Ethiopia’s internal […]
The Vicious Circle of Fragmentation: The EU and the Limits of Its Approach to Libya
Due to the weak state structures inherited by Qadhafi’s regime, Libya has entered a vicious cycle of fragmentation since 2011, as sub-national and regional players have engaged in a competition for resources and power. The involvement of several international actors has exacerbated these dynamics, turning Libya into a proxy conflict. EU action in Libya has […]