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

Protecting Nuclear Installations: The difference between industrial safety and national security

Date de publication
27 May 2011
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There is a gritty public debate going on in Europe about what threats should be considered in conducting stress tests on existing nuclear power plants or in establishing safety criteria for new build nuclear power. 

The EU and the Crisis: Do We Need More Integration?

Date de publication
07 December 2011
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The European Union is facing a tremendous challenge: coming out of the crisis unified. Every summit is both labeled the one of all hopes and the one of the last chance. Information keeps coming in, which hampers a good comprehension of the situation. 

February Gas Pains in Europe - Coping Is Not Managing: the Italian Response to the Gas Crisis

Date de publication
22 February 2012
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The recent cold spell that gripped much of Europe was a test for the European gas network. In many countries temperatures fell dramatically to -10°C during the first week of February, even dropping a bone chilling - 22°C in some places.

As the European Commission(s Director General for Energy Philippe Lowe said during a speech at our Annual Conference last Thursday (February 16) in Brussels, Europe(s gas network was able to respond to the sharp increase in demand despite a simultaneous drop in supply from Gazprom.

Establishing the Rule of Law: the U.N. Challenge in Kosovo

Date de publication
29 June 2012
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Created on the 10th July 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK was responsible for restructuring the institutions of a country devastated by war and establishing democratic governance. The security of people and goods and the existence of a legal system trusted by the population were two crucial prerequisites to the state-building process.

How Does the Tea Party Compare with European Far Right Movements?

Date de publication
09 October 2012
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There is a rich history of far-right political parties in Europe. Long-standing parties such as the French Front National (FN), mostly marginalized since World War II, have enjoyed a resurgence since the 1980’s. Under the very recent leadership of Marine Le Pen, the FN has undergone a rejuvenation of its communication strategy and gained two seats in the National Assembly, the first time that the FN won any seats since the end of the proportional representation system in 1988. There are also many newer far-right parties in Europe, such as the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV). The PVV, formed in 2006 by Geert Wilders, has become the third most popular party in the Netherlands and was until recently a member of the governing minority coalition.

Trading Freely with East Asia: Challenges and Opportunities for EU FTAs in the Region

Date de publication
30 November 2012
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As the fastest growing region in the world, East Asia is an important partner for the European Union, particularly at a time of economic difficulty. Asian countries have weathered the recent financial and economic crisis much better than Europe and much better than initially anticipated, with China and several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recording relatively impressive growth rates. As a result, self-confidence has been growing in Asia while European economies feel increasingly challenged.

The Lisbon Treaty and the Evolution of European Space Governance

Date de publication
12 September 2013
Accroche

Until the adoption of the Lisbon treaty in December 2007, there was no explicit reference to space in the EU’s constitutive documents. While the European Space Agency has been active in space since the mid-1970s, the Union’s policy remained without a legal basis for space activities. Parallel to the treaties’ evolution however, the EU’s competences never stopped expanding to new fields, bringing it ever closer to space and its various applications. Creativity and dynamic uses of these existing competences have allowed the EU to progressively interfere with the space sector and to get closer to ESA.

The EU internal market - a stake or a tool in European-Russian gas relations. The case of new member states gas policy

Date de publication
15 June 2011
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Since 2010 we have observed a new quality in EU energy policy. It is related to the European Commission’s more or less direct engagement in the bilateral gas relations of a part of the new member states - Poland, Bulgaria and Lithuania - with Russia.

Key Trends in the European Earth Observation Sector

Date de publication
18 December 2011
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An ambitious Earth Observation (EO) policy could bring significant benefits to Europe both regarding the fight against climate change and the competitiveness of its EO industry and service sectors.

2012, a turning point for Europe in space

Date de publication
09 February 2012
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In 2012, several crucial decisions lie ahead, most notably at the ESA Ministerial Council next fall and regarding the status of space within the next MFF of the EU. These will reveal the degree of political will to pursue an ambitious ESP in times of economic and financial constraint.

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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