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
Dancing with the Bear: Managing Escalation in a Conflict with Russia
"Escalation", the tendency of belligerents to increase the force or breadth of their attacks to gain advantage or avoid defeat, is not a new phenomenon. Systematic thought about how to manage it, however, did not crystallize until the Cold War and the invention of nuclear weapons.
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.
2012, a turning point for Europe in space
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.
Migration Policy and Irregular Workers in the United Kingdom
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.
The 2012 State of the European Union: Austerity and Solidarity in Europe
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.
One Year Before the Election: Countdown to a Second Term?
Ifri's December conferences have become a staple event for Europeans eager to understand the evolutions underway in the United States. For our tenth edition, we discussed the main specificities of the U.S. judiciary system and their impact on non-U.S. citizens and entities, the up-coming presidential elections, the economic situation of a country caught between the debt and a recession, and finally, the evolution of U.S. attitudes vis-a-vis the upheavals in the Arab and Muslim World.
Political Europe: Is Hope Reasonable?
The European crisis is primarily the result of economic difficulties and their social effects.
Key Trends in the European Earth Observation Sector
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.
The EU and the Crisis: Do We Need More Integration?
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.
European Space Governance: The Outlook
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.
Gazprom and the EU: Raiding the Gas Companies
It was a matter of time before the Commission competition authorities looked into the business arrangements between Gazprom and its European partners. Some would ask why it took so long.
Commission Communication of the EU Energy External Policy: Was There an Alternative?
EU is the world’s largest net energy importer and consumer, so why do its Members continue to negotiate individually with the rest of the world rather than as one big market with a big voice?
RAMSES 2012. Les États submergés ?
RAMSES (Le Rapport annuel mondial sur le système économique et les stratégies), is a yearly publication that provides in-depth reviews and prospective analysis on current events, providing readers with indispensable insights and perspectives for understanding contemporary geopolitics on the global scale.
Space Weather and NEOs in the European Space Policy
Although often overshadowed by a focus on security concerns, Space weather and NEOs are important elements of Europe’s SSA program.
The Use of Space for Maritime Security in Europe
The EU is currently developing a Maritime Security Strategy. Space should be integrated in that effort, given its potential for maritime surveillance.
NATO Partnerships: Shaking Hands or Shaking the System?
The new Strategic Concept takes stock of the past ten years but outlines only modest objectives for the future of NATO. Partnership falls under the third core task, cooperative security. A subsequent partnership policy was unveiled, but has provided little new impetus.
The EU internal market - a stake or a tool in European-Russian gas relations. The case of new member states gas policy
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.
Protecting Nuclear Installations: The difference between industrial safety and national security
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.
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‟?
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 2026, Ifri partners with over 90 French and international companies and organizations.
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.
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.