Commentaries
The EU at a crossroad
Speech given by Marc Otte, Director-General Egmont Institute, on the occasion of the Opening Day of the School for Young leaders in Ohrid.
Europe in the World
In a world that is largely driven by competition and rivalry (and partnership, yet) between great powers, understanding the Grand Strategy of each of these powers is crucial. So is developing a Grand Strategy for the EU itself. An EU that acts as one, as one pole of the multipolar world on a par with the other powers, is the only way to safeguard the way of life that the Member States of the EU have chosen, based on democracy, the free market, and equality.
Power cannot be divided: a global player must have political, economic, as well as military power. To that end, the Europe in the World Programme analyses the diplomacy and defence of the US, China, and Russia, and of the EU, NATO, and their members. We also focus on geoeconomics, researching Open Strategic Autonomy and the Global Gateway as key EU instruments, as well as the geoeconomic approaches of the other powers.
Defence policy is our third main axis of research, with a particular focus on European defence and its interaction with NATO, but also on nuclear deterrence and the deterrence of hybrid threats. Throughout all three research axis, we devote special attention to the role of Belgium, including notably the development of its own National Security Strategy and diplomatic and military capabilities.
Publications
Commentaries
EMSS: new and approaching ‘hot-buttons’ for maritime security
Given the success of EU maritime cooperation combatting piracy in Somalia and the Western Indian Ocean, and with activity in the area gradually subsiding, there’s an inevitable question of “where […]
Commentaries
Strategic partnerships: a new toolkit for business and statecraft
Two major deals were concluded last June, one between Alibaba and Unilever, and the other between Australia and Singapore. What is common between them? Their labelling: both deals are called […]
External publications
European strategy
At the invitation of the Aenauer Foundation, Sven Biscop spoke on European strategy at a conference at the Australian National University, the proceedings of which are summarized in this briefing […]
From survival to revival: The Riga Summit 2015 and the revised ENP
With the European Parliament’s July report on the revision of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) calling on the Commission to ‘go back to basics’, this article argues that such a […]
Commentaries
BRICS: An alternative order in construction (Summit takeaways)
The leaders of the emerging world met last week in Ufa, Russia, on the occasion of the BRICS and SCO summits. This short comment highlight the main takeaways from these meetings […]