Highly indebted European NATO countries should levy a “defense tax” to make their long-term commitment to higher defense spending politically credible and financially sustainable.
The Franco-German relationship remains irreplaceable for the EU. But it urgently needs to be renewed to include European goals.
The European Union seems disoriented in 2024. The German chancellor is turning to Washington when leadership is needed. That leaves French President Emmanuel Macron.
By launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has brought back geopolitics to Europe for good. It’s striking, however, that a country with such limited resources has been able to set the framework within which the Europeans are forced to act.
After a lost decade-and-a-half that saw the establishment of German predominance, there is now the acute danger of Berlin and Paris applying rejected ideas to enlarging and reforming the EU: Four principles for a future-oriented EU expansion and adaptation.
Germany’s China policy was long shaped by the country’s economic interests and the illusion that engagement could help bring about change. Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy has led to an awakening in Berlin. But how far will the German government go in redefining its relations with China?
The frenetic growth of world trade has been over for some time. Geopolitical risks are now leading to a new order. This by no means heralds a phase of deglobalization—which is empirically unlikely and would be costly economically. The European Union would do well, however, to ensure greater diversification.
Geopolitical and geoeconomic conflicts are mounting, and the EU is responding with renewed vigor in trade agreements. But it also urgently needs to move forward with World Trade Organization reform.
While there is little appetite on either side of the Atlantic for a revival of TTIP, both the EU and the US should work toward smaller agreements to enhance transatlantic trade cooperation in the long-term.
Russia's aggressiveness has upended the security order in Europe and the world.
Once the war in Ukraine ends, Russia will be far less influential and powerful than it was before February 2022. This will only increase the relative importance of military force in Russia’s political arsenal.
The EU member states have failed to create a common approach in their dealings with Putin’s Russia. There are a number of steps that they can and should take to forge a united front.
