Research

Turkey rising?

30 November 2020
Turkey’s foreign policy has become increasingly militarised and assertive, driven by a mix of ambition, security concerns and domestic politics. However, despite its recent successes, Ankara is at risk of overreaching. 

Post-Brexit foreign, security and defence co-operation: We don't want to talk about it

26 November 2020
The UK is wrong to reject an institutional foreign policy relationship with the EU, but the EU should improve its ineffective external security co-operation with third countries, including the UK.

President Biden: Don't expect miracles, Europe

13 November 2020
Transatlantic relations will improve under Biden, but Europe will not be his number one priority. Europeans must strengthen their capacity to protect their own interests.

Brexit and police and judicial co-operation: Too little, too late?

Camino Mortera-Martinez
09 November 2020
The EU and the UK will find an agreement on extradition and Europol. But both parties are further apart on data protection than it may seem. Data transfers will be a problem in the future relationship.

Americans choose their president: Europe must live with the consequences

02 November 2020
The US election could spell the end of the transatlantic partnership or give it a new lease of life. But even if Biden prevails, Europeans should not use his victory as an excuse to hit the snooze button.

What would a Biden presidency mean for US-EU trade relations?

Sam Lowe
28 October 2020
Joe Biden in the White House would remove the threat of a US-EU trade war from the table, and open up new areas for co-operation.

The Commission's 'new migration pact': Handle with care

Camino Mortera-Martinez, Luigi Scazzieri
26 October 2020
The European Commission's new migration plans are more likely to succeed than previous attempts at reforming the system.

A tale of batteries, Brexit and EU strategic autonomy

Sam Lowe
23 October 2020
Recently leaked proposals suggest the EU wants to use the EU-UK trade deal to help on-shore an electric vehicle supply chain.

Brexit and COVID-19 are a toxic mix

John Springford, Tomas Hirst
15 October 2020
The second wave of COVID-19 is arriving just before the UK leaves the single market. The pandemic will make it harder for the economy to adjust to Brexit.

A trade deal would give the City of London breathing space

30 September 2020
The EU’s decisions on financial equivalence for the UK are formally separate from the trade deal under negotiation. But in reality, the two are linked.

Will the coronavirus pandemic deliver a coup de grâce to Schengen?

Camino Mortera-Martinez
30 September 2020
The EU’s Schengen area will survive the pandemic. But member-states need to co-ordinate border closures and set clear criteria for imposing quarantines, or they will imperil the single market.

Can the EU's Strategic Compass steer European defence?

30 September 2020
The EU’s planned ‘Strategic Compass’ will define its security and defence ambitions. Though not a panacea, it could give European defence more coherence and should help foster a common strategic outlook among member-states.

A terrible border is reborn? Ireland and a no-deal Brexit

Daniel Keohane
25 September 2020
If the UK fails to reach a trade deal with the EU, and does not implement the special arrangements for Northern Ireland agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement, Ireland faces the prospect of a hard land border being reborn.

A Brexit deal may yet emerge from the current confusion

22 September 2020
Despite the brouhaha over the Internal Market Bill, both the British government and the EU still want to clinch a deal, and that remains a plausible outcome.

Europe, the US and China: A love-hate triangle?

Sophia Besch, Ian Bond, Leonard Schuette
21 September 2020
The EU risks being caught between an increasingly hostile US and China. It must manage relations with both in order to protect the rules-based global order.

Is development aid a victim of the EU budget deal?

Khrystyna Parandii
15 September 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the Commission’s plans to reform its development policy. But though the EU will provide less external assistance than planned, its administration can be improved.
Five reasons why even a basic EU-UK trade deal is better than nothing

Five reasons why even a basic EU-UK trade deal is better than nothing

Sam Lowe
18 August 2020
A deal would avoid tariffs, unlock supplementary benefits, allow for EU and UK customs co-operation, ensure the Northern Ireland protocol is implemented sustainably
Lukashenka fights for survival

Lukashenka fights for survival

13 August 2020
There was never any doubt who would ‘win’ Belarus’s presidential election. But the country is undergoing profound changes – which pose dilemmas for both Russia and the EU.