Brief/ The EU’s Geopolitical Enlargement – Ukraine’s Accession Will Make the EU a Stronger Security Actor by Anna Osypchuk and Kristi Raik
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine led the European Union to grant Ukraine candidate country status. This major shift in the EU’s approach was broadly seen by member states as a geopolitical imperative. Geopolitical enlargement holds greater geopolitical importance now and, if successful, it will be an essential part of Western efforts in preventing that Russia […]
Brief/ Ukraine’s NATO Membership Will Strengthen Europe’s Security by Riccardo Alcaro
Although NATO Summit in Vilnius has not set the conditions for Ukraine to join the Alliance, it has made clear that Ukraine will one day become a member. In this JOINT Brief, Riccardo Alcaro (Project Coordinator, Istituto Affari Internazionali – IAI) argues that, for years to come, European security will have to be built in defence from […]
Ukraine’s NATO Membership Will Strengthen Europe’s Security
NATO’s refusal to set a clear pathway for Ukraine’s membership largely dominated the expert and public debate over the Alliance’s summit in Vilnius last week.[1] It also overshadowed its significant, even historic, results.[2] After all, in Vilnius, NATO all but acquired a new member (barring surprises from Turkey’s parliament): not (yet) Ukraine but Sweden. Coming […]
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, […]
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- […]
Russia’s War on Ukraine: Two Inconvenient Truths for the EU
Following a spectacular Ukrainian counteroffensive and the retaking of Kherson, the war in Europe’s east has moved into a new phase. The immediate focus is now shifting to the chilling effects of winter – both on the frontline and on Western morale. That said, the EU and its member states are now confronted with two […]
Protests and Drones Push EU–Iran Relations to the Brink
The protests that have jolted Iran’s clerical leadership over the past weeks,[1] as well as news of Iran’s drone and missile sales to Russia,[2] raise questions that EU policymakers and foreign policy analysts have been struggling with for years: how stable is the Islamic Republic? How to support protesters? And how to reconcile condemnation of […]
Indonesia’s G20 Presidency and the War in Ukraine
At the end of June 2022, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) conducted a series of trips overseas. It was a week-long visit to Germany, Ukraine, Russia, ending in the United Arab Emirates. Jokowi’s visit to Germany corresponded with the G7 Summit, which often hosts the G20 Chairman. After the summit, President Jokowi visited Kyiv to […]
More Integration, Less Autonomy: The EU in Europe’s New Order
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not just shattered what was left of Europe’s post-Cold War order. It has also defined the broad contours of Europe’s future order and consequently of the kind of peace such an order will be able to sustain. An armed peace, again The war has no foregone conclusion. It may result […]
Turkey in the Black Sea: Is a Balancing Act Still Possible?
Turkey has placed efforts towards establishing amicable relations with Russia while being a part of the Western alliance. Just after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkey’s position in the region and the possible closure of the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits became one of the main debated issues. According to the 1936 Montreux Convention,[1] which […]
Brief/ Not Yet Time for Diplomacy. Lessons from Italy’s Ill-Conceived Peace Plan for Ukraine by Riccardo Alcaro and Nona Mikhelidze
In this new JOINT Brief, Riccardo Alcaro (JOINT Coordinator) and Nona Mikhelidze (IAI Senior Fellow) analyze Italy’s stillborn peace plan for Ukraine, arguing that it holds a lesson for EU: time is not yet ripe for diplomacy with Russia. Here’s the main findings:1. In its pursuit for a quick end to hostilities, the peace plan anticipated arguments […]
Not Yet Time for Diplomacy. Lessons from Italy’s Ill-Conceived Peace Plan for Ukraine
Few may have noticed, but Italy recently advanced its own diplomatic proposal for a resolution of the war in Ukraine. Rome’s ambitious peace plan[1] received little international recognition, although it was reportedly shared with the Quint – an informal consultation group comprising the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy – and formally […]