German Council on Foreign Relations

Priorities for the next EU Commission (2024–2029)

From June 6 to 9, around 373 million EU citizens will be called upon to elect the 720 members of the next European Parliament. The new European Commission and its new President will be elected shortly thereafter. Below, our experts explain which priorities they should set during their term of office in the EU’s most important institution. Their brief analyses focus on issues such as trade, security, EU enlargement, energy, and cyber and health policy.

Author/s
Dr. Claudia Schmucker
Dr. Valentin Weber
Loyle Campbell
et al.
Online Commentary

Germany Needs a Strategy—Grand and Democratic

German leaders have long been reluctant to discuss, let alone set, grand strategy. Now, with the world in flux and the old ways no longer working, Berlin needs to step up and clearly lay out what it wants—and how it plans to get it.

Author/s
Dr. Roderick Parkes
Florence Schimmel
Dr. Benjamin Tallis
IPQ
Creation date

The EU’s New Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Be a Success if It Isn’t Used

For the first time, the EU has made a nexus between trade policy, which is the European Commission’s domain, and security policy, which still largely rests with the member states. Its Anti-Coercion Instrument is a deterrence tool.

Author/s
Dr. Kim B. Olsen
Dr. Claudia Schmucker
IPQ
Quarterly Concerns
Creation date

Into the Unknown

2024 will likely test Germany when it comes to its two most important defense and security tasks: helping Ukraine and improving the Bundeswehr.

Author/s
Dr. Henning Hoff
IPQ
Berlin Cable
Creation date

Russia’s Geostrategic Shifts

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.

Author/s
Dr. Stefan Meister
IPQ
Cover Section
Creation date

BerlinsideOut

The podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin. Hosted by Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a journalist specialising in German politics, we look at how Germany sees the world and the world sees Germany. Join us every Tuesday on all major platforms — Spotify, Apple Podcast, Podigee

Upcoming Events

Topics & Regions