• Essay by Dmitri Trenin, 02 September 2005

    Throughout the 1990s, Russia tended to underestimate the impact of the EU's forthcoming eastward enlargement. Compared with NATO's expansion into post-Communist territory, EU enlargement looked like the lesser evil.

  • Opinion piece by Charles Grant
    European Voice, 01 September 2005

    Rather than undermine the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, Turkish membership of the Union could boost the bloc's power in trouble spots across the Middle East and Central Asia, argues Charles Grant.

  • Opinion piece by Charles Grant
    New Statesman, 18 July 2005

    President Bush proclaimed Georgia a "beacon for liberty" when he visited Tbilisi in May. Georgia has certainly made great progress since people power overthrew the corrupt and incompetent regime of Eduard Shevardnadze in 2003. Nevertheless, clouds are dimming the light of that beacon.

  • Report by Charles Grant, 03 May 2004

    The Europeans should develop their own distinctive approach to warfare, argue the authors of this report. Although the Europeans can learn from the Americans on how to prepare for the most demanding sorts of military mission, they should build on their core strengths of peacekeeping, nation-building and counter-insurgency.

  • Policy brief by Steven Everts, 19 December 2003

    The IAEA's decision to censure Iran for its nuclear activities but also to give Tehran time to co-operate with inspectors creates a breathing space. The EU should use it to put forward a broader set of policies, fleshing out the political and economic incentives it is offering Tehran, while making clear that if Iran fails to satisfy the IAEA, trade and other sanctions will follow.

  • Bulletin article by Daniel Keohane , 01 August 2003

    The EU has lost its military virginity. At the request of the UN, the EU sent 1,500 troops to Congo at the beginning of June 2003. The Congo mission is significant for two reasons: it is both the first autonomous EU mission - one that does not rely on NATO's help - and the EU's first military operation outside Europe.

  • Briefing note by Daniel Keohane, 04 April 2003

    Europe has many lessons to learn from the Iraq crisis. Politically, Europe is divided between "old" (those countries that opposed the Iraq war) and "new" (those that supported the war). Europe’s lack of military muscle compared to the Americans was exposed by the short Iraq campaign.

  • Briefing note by Charles Grant, 01 November 2002

    NATO adapted well after the end of the Cold War. An organisation which had been focused on collective defence against the Soviet threat found new things to do: spreading security and stability through NATO enlargement to new members and partners in Central Europe, and applying force to impose – and then police – peace agreements in Bosnia and Kosovo.