Europe
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.
Related Subjects
The Future of Europe’s Strategic Deterrence is (also) at Sea
A cursory look at both France and the UK suggests that the future of European nuclear deterrence is at sea.
America's Defense Pact with Australia and the U.K. Has Humiliated France's Macron. But It Might Also Help Him
For years, French President Emmanuel Macron butted heads, bit his tongue in frustration, and lashed out at former President Donald Trump, who refused to yield an inch to his entreaties about global cooperation. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on climate change—cherished projects for Macron—and trashed the NATO military alliance as “obsolete.”
The State of Franco-German Relations and European Foreign Policy
The Franco-German relationship is more important than ever in order to deal with international crises and to develop a common European Foreign and Security Policy.
RAMSES 2022. Beyond Covid
For its 40th edition, RAMSES 2022. Beyond Covid, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.
Germany/European Union: Angela Merkel’s Ambiguous Legacy
Angela Merkel is ending her fourth term as German Chancellor. Although she has made a number of statements demonstrating her commitment to the European project, her record in this area nevertheless appears to be mixed.
Is Europe a “Digital Colony” of the United States?
Edward Snowden’s revelations, the Cambridge Analytica affair and the digital transformation accelerated by the Covid-19 crisis have all shown Europe's technological dependence on foreign powers.
Advancing Europe: Green for Danger?
In France, the prospect of the Greens entering the German government this fall raises both hopes and fears.
Europe, Power and Finance
Finance has become an essential attribute of power. Its importance has grown given the substantial investments needed for the energy and digital transitions as well as the need to support economies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
USA/Europe: Seven Digital Challenges
As a consequence of the positive momentum in Transatlantic relations brought about by the arrival of the Biden administration, significant progress is expected on a range of key digital issues.
The African Union’s Migration Agenda: An Alternative to European Priorities in Africa?
While migration from Africa is the priority of European policies for the control of the European Union’s external borders, African migration dynamics are above all regional. Sub-Saharan migration is poorly connected to transcontinental flows: more than 70% remain in Africa.
Commercial Space in Europe: A Balancing Act between Physics, Politics and Profession
Satellite constellations have become core elements of the digital transition. Over the next decade, several thousand satellites will have to be launched, to build these constellations. For positioning satellites, preferably in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), reliable and affordable launch services are essential.
The European Coal Market: Will Coal survive the EC's Energy and Climate Policy?
The European coal industry is at a crossroads. The European Commission (EC) Energy Policy by 2020, the 20/20/20 targets, is not favourable to coal:
a 20% decrease in CO2 emissions does not favour coal compared with natural gas, its main competitor in electricity generation;
a 20% increase in energy efficiency will lead to a decrease in energy/coal consumption;
a 20% increase in renewables will displace other energy sources, including coal.
The Lisbon Treaty and the Evolution of European Space Governance
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 European Power System - Decarbonization and Cost Reduction: Lost in Transmissions?
Europe’s energy policy is commonly defined by three axes of equal importance: security of supplies, competitiveness and sustainable development. The European Commission is mandated to develop the policy tools that allow the implementation of this common policy. Early on, challenges arose from the trade-offs to be made not only between these three pillars but also between a common European policy and national approaches. The European Commission has always had to struggle in attempting to keep a balanced line.
A EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement: Toward More Solid Economic Relations
Until the 1990s, economic ties between the European Union and Japan were marked largely by an atmosphere of trade tension. The main reason was the persistent trade surplus that Japan maintained. Over time, however, the improvement of the bilateral trade balance and the massive direct investment of Japan in the EU have alleviated these tensions.
NSA Does the Grand Tour
On Tuesday Barack Obama called President Francois Hollande of France to explain the National Security Agency’s massive surveillance of French government offices, businesses and private citizens. Obama stated that this was a well-meaning attempt to protect both countries from Islamic terrorism. He offered to “reexamine” the program so as to determine whether the right balance was struck between public safety and privacy rights.
February Gas Pains in Europe - Coping Is Not Managing: the Italian Response to the Gas Crisis
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.
Integration or Imitation? EU Policy towards its Eastern Neighbours
However, these considerations extend beyond current events and the EU calendar. There are aspects of the central question, namely: Is the EU capable of exporting its own model of governance? This question is currently more focused on the local than the global potential of the European Union. Can it continue the process of „making Europe wider‟?
GMES, the Second Flagship
The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Program is often overshadowed by what is perceived to be the flagship program of European space, Galileo. As a matter of fact, GMES is just as important and faces many similar challenges.
Final Call for a European Space Strategy
Space poses both an opportunity and a challenge for Europe. And so does the new provision of the Lisbon Treaty - article 189 TFEU - that awards the EU an explicit competency on space.
The Sovereign Debt Crisis and the Future of the Euro
The specter of sovereign defaults is back. The roots of a sovereign debt crisis are deep and concern all the industrialized countries. In 2010, those fears coagulated on Greece because Greece was the worst offender. Disgusted by the political economy of the Eurozone, investors concluded in the spring that the Eurozone and its currency had lost its attractiveness. But it would be completely premature to conclude that the Eurozone is condemned. What happened in the spring is breathtaking and very much in line with the European tradition to use every crisis as an opportunity: the paper offers a dissenting, unfashionable and optimistic view of the future of the Euro.
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