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Today's geopolitical conflicts are fought not only with missiles, sanctions and tariffs but also through competing versions of reality. The battle is no longer simply over how facts should be interpreted. Increasingly, it is over whether facts exist at all. Whether a country commits war crimes, violates sanctions, interferes in elections, pursues weapons of mass destruction or conceals information about a pandemic are questions of fact before they become matters of interpretation.

The EU sets high green standards but too often fails to enforce them — weakening them under pressure and leaving them unenforceable beyond its borders. Its multilateral credibility depends on closing that gap. The EU's multilateral influence has long rested on a tacit bargain: it sets standards, promotes rules, and asks others to follow.

For a decade, the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) were flagships of Franco-German defence integration: Germany leading the tank, France the fighter jet. Each was meant to replace a Cold War-era platform by around 2040. Now both are gone. A high-profile Franco-German defence industrial programme backed by significant public investment is no longer.

Much of the debate surrounding Russia's war against Ukraine is clouded by false equivalence. Some countries claim to take a neutral position by presenting Russia and Ukraine as two equal parties in a conflict. They are not. Russia chose to launch a war of aggression. Ukraine was invaded. One is the aggressor, the other the victim. There is no symmetry in responsibility. The same false equivalence appears in discussions about the possible outcome of the war.

Programme Assistant – Europe’s Political Economy Programme The EPC is looking for a Programme Assistant (equivalent to a paid traineeship) to join its Europe’s Political Economy Programme for a period of 6 months, with the option to extend for an additional six months depending on performance and mutual interest, starting on 31 August 2026 (date to be confirmed). This entry-level position is open exclusively to graduates.

The European Policy Centre invites you to the launch of the Outlook Forum, a new annual gathering dedicated to anticipating the political developments, strategic risks and critical choices that could shape Europe in the year ahead. Europe operates in an era of permanent structural disruption.

Donald Trump once again arrived at a NATO summit under a cloud of controversy, questioning allies' commitments, reviving old grievances, and raising fresh doubts about America's role in European security. Yet the meeting ended with familiar declarations of unity, renewed pledges on defence spending, and promises of a stronger European pillar within the Alliance. So what really changed?

As the EU races to secure critical minerals for its green and industrial transitions, partnerships with African countries will only succeed if they deliver more than extraction. To build resilient supply chains and remain competitive, Europe must back industrialisation, strengthen investment incentives, and ensure tangible benefits for local communities. Securing resilient access to critical minerals (CRMs) is essential for the EU’s clean transition, digitalisation and defence.

If pro-European liberal democratic forces were asked to design the continent’s order from scratch, they would not replicate the EU as it currently stands. Instead, they would aim to construct a far more capable, democratically modernized, and strategically coherent polity— one that could e!ectively defend Europe’s vital interests and fundamental values in an era de"ned by geopolitical rivalry, geoeconomic confrontation, and democratic backsliding.

A watershed moment: the role of ocean health in advancing the EU’s competitiveness and security From Research to Policy: New Perspectives on EU Migration Countdown to the NATO Summit in Ankara: Challenges, expectations, goals The Stars and the Sun: Advancing EU-Japan cooperation in an evolving global environment The Multiannual Financial Framework and National Energy and Climate Plans The impact of populism on Europe’s external relations The citizens' participation toolkit in the EU Smart...