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Europe

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Europe is described here in a geographical sense. It is not limited to the European Union, and includes, for example, the United Kingdom and the Balkans. It remains central to international relations.

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Flag of EU and flag of China in European Council offices
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Date de publication
June 2024

The Future of Europe’s Strategic Deterrence is (also) at Sea

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The French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle"
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The French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle"
Credits : Joris van Boven/Shutterstock
Accroche

A cursory look at both France and the UK suggests that the future of European nuclear deterrence is at sea.

Cyberwar Will Not Happen, but We Must Be Prepared

Date de publication
20 June 2012
Accroche

Even if no independent cyberwar has ever taken place, “cyberspace” has nonetheless become an important dimension of current conflicts.

Building Security Institutions: Lessons Learned in Afghanistan

Date de publication
30 August 2012
Accroche

After its rapid military victory over the Taliban, the international community underestimated the resources, time and work that would be required enforce to Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Afghanistan. Even though the Afghan population was supportive of the coalition’s efforts at first, the light footprint approach, fostered by the Europeans, failed to provide with satisfying results as the insurgency made its way through popular frustration.

France and the EEAS: A give-and-take relationship

Date de publication
19 November 2012
Accroche

Based on interviews with diplomats from a representative cross-section of nine member states and members of the EEAS (European External Action Service) itself, the research findings of this EPIN Working Paper confirm long-standing traditions and member state perceptions of cooperation with European institutions.

Tough love between Britain and the European Union

Date de publication
27 March 2013
Accroche

Discussions of a potential “Brexit”, the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, have sparked debate in Britain, and also across Europe, intensified by the UK veto of the “fiscal compact” at the European Council in December 2011. What sounded like the absurd pipedream of a few hard-core eurosceptics a couple of years ago has now become a genuine possibility.

European Space Governance: The Outlook

Date de publication
02 November 2011
Accroche

The Ifri/SWF conference of 13 September 2011 provided an overview of the evolution of European space governance. It was convened almost two years after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty and five months after the release of the European Commission (EC) Communication on a future European space strategy.

Migration Policy and Irregular Workers in the United Kingdom

Date de publication
06 February 2012
Accroche

While public opinion and European governments usually present migrants as an outside threat for European societies, in this article, Danièle Joly and Khursheed Wadia focus on the local level to analyze the issue of migrants, in particular irregular workers, living in the UK.

An Overview of Italy's Energy Mix

Date de publication
25 June 2012
Accroche

Italy is currently hit by an unprecedented economic, political and social crisis. This changing and uncertain environment affects more than ever the ability to define an energy strategy, which has never really benefitted from a clear vision and a solid organization. Since the 1987 referendum, which acknowledged the end of the nuclear program, the Italian energy policy has been elaborated through a juxtaposition of decrees and rules. Several laws have been approved either to comply with the European regulation or to correct former policies. These have contributed to the creation of a highly intricate regulation puzzle, only accessible to the most voluntary ones or the better equipped. The “success” of renewables subsidies has compromised the profitability of thermal power stations and increased the energy bills of retail consumers.

Capacity Mechanisms : EU or National Issue? Are Capacity Remuneration Mechanisms Helping to Build the Market or Just a Symptom of What Does Not Work ?

Date de publication
05 October 2012
Accroche

In a competitive energy system, generation investment choices are let to investors. It is then the responsibility of the market actors to invest and ensure peak, medium and base load generation, based on market perspectives and trends. If through actors" investments the stability of the system cannot be ensured (because, for example, peak generation is not sufficient to satisfy demand), some measures have to be taken. These can have economic and system integrity impacts on neighboring systems, especially if they are connected. This is precisely what is happening in the European electricity market.

Kazakhstan and Eurasian Economic Integration: Quick Start, Mixed Results and Uncertain Future

Date de publication
26 November 2012
Accroche

Kazakhstan's economic integration with Russia and Belarus has been advancing at break-neck speed.

The Primacy of Alliance: Deterrence and European Security

Date de publication
29 April 2013
Accroche

Since the end of the Cold War, the international security environment has been transformed and nuclear weapons have been marginalized in the West. However, the NATO security policies remain almost unchanged: deterrence is still considered as a principle guiding the Atlantic Alliance, even though the actual policy statements lack target, direction and urgency.

Support independent French research

Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.

Ramses Conference, 2024
Related centers and programs
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The Pariser Platz (Paris Square) on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.

 

Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.

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France, Austria Flags, European Union
Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (ÖFZ)
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The Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (ÖFZ/CFA) is a Franco-Austrian intergovernmental organization, initiated in 1976 by Prime Minister Jacques Chirac and Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, in order to develop economic relations between Western and Eastern Europe, contributing to the creation of a Europe of peace.


After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the ÖFZ/CFA refocused its action on the problems following the enlargement of the European Union, and integrated the following countries in its field of activities : Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the Baltic countries, Romania and Bulgaria. ÖFZ/CFA's vocation, as a space for reflection and exchange, is in fact reinforced by the need to support the new member countries of the Union in their integration process. Since 2004, the ÖFZ/CFA has also turned towards the Union's new neighbors, in particular towards the countries of the Western Balkans, which perceive their future from a European perspective.


The ÖFZ/CFA strives to place all of its exchanges in a global perspective concerning the future of our continent. Today it centers its activities around three directions: the Franco-Austrian bilateral dialogue, the future of the European Union, the future recomposition of the continent.

Reports of all events organized by the ÖFZ/CFA are available on its website (http://oefz.at). The ÖFZ/CFA's budget is provided by the French and Austrian foreign ministries. Depending on the themes addressed, the ÖFZ/CFA calls on European public and private institutions to help finance its meetings. The CFA's orientations benefit from the recommendations of an Orientation Council, approved by a Board of Directors, which elects from among its members a president and a secretary general.

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Flag of EU and flag of China in European Council offices
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock