Sophia Besch

Sophia Besch

Senior research fellow
Areas of expertise 

EU Common Security and Defence Policy, European defence industry integration, NATO, German security and defence policy

Twitter 

Merkel's migration deal: Less than the sum of its parts

09 July 2018
The June European Council has not solved the EU’s migration problems.

Moving on after Galileo – lessons (to be) learnt

28 June 2018
The EU and the UK have not been able to come to an agreement over Britain’s participation in the Galileo programme.

Plugging in the British: Completing the circuit

22 June 2018
Post-Brexit internal and external security co-operation arrangements seem as hard for the EU and UK to agree on as trade. Other third countries’ relationships with the EU provide models.

Can EU-UK defence negotiations be positive-sum?

30 May 2018
It is clearly in Britain and the European Union’s mutual interest to continue working closely together on defence after Brexit. Nevertheless, negotiating defence co-operation will not be pain-free; there are obstacles to a quick and easy deal.

A hitchhiker's guide to Galileo and Brexit

03 May 2018
The debate between the UK and the EU over British participation in the EU’s space programme ‘Galileo’ shows how difficult it will be to disentangle economic and security interests during Brexit negotiations. 

Plugging in the British: EU defence policy

26 April 2018
Both Britain and the EU would benefit from working together to keep Europe safe, even after Brexit. But economic protectionism and a desire for autonomy may get in the way.

The good European? Why Germany's policy ambitions must match its power

22 February 2018
The next German government should overcome 'small nation' thinking: Berlin needs to acknowledge that its domestic economic policy has consequences for its neighbours. It also needs to take more responsibility for European security.

Conference report: How to save the EU

15 January 2018
50 leading economists, political scientists and experts on the EU considered the forces undermining the Union, and how Europe should respond to them.

PESCO: Paper tiger, paper tanks?

29 November 2017
For PESCO to become more than another EU defence paper tiger, it must develop effective assessment mechanisms and deliver on filling European capability gaps.

Relaunching the EU

07 November 2017
The EU is ripe for fundamental reform. New policies are needed for migration and the euro. The EU also needs more flexible structures so that countries can opt in and out of key policies.