Bring back the spirit of PESCO!
Five years after the launch of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), and five waves of projects later, it is the right time to ask whether the tool still corresponds to […]
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
Stronger Together: Marking 30 Years of OSCE – UN Co-operation
In a world where multilateralism is being challenged, organizations that promote and facilitate co-operation among states have a particularly important role to play. The OSCE stands tall as an organization […]
War for Ukraine and the Rediscovery of Geopolitics: Must the EU Draw New Battlelines or Keep an Open Door?
Just like many Allied leaders during World War One could only see what was right in front of them, i.e., the continuous line of trenches in Belgium and France, so […]
Commentaries
Ukraine: Perception Shapes Victory and Defeat
In March 1918 Imperial Germany was preparing to accept the surrender of revolution-torn Russia. By November of that year, it was Germany that for a brief period, when the military […]
Uncovering uncomfortable truths: the geopolitics of EU gas imports in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine
With the conclusion of the winter season, it appears that the European Union (EU) has successfully avoided the anticipated gas shortages and blackouts. This outcome can be attributed to a […]
Commentaries
High Time for Sweden’s NATO Membership
In 2014, after the first Russian invasion of Ukraine, I called for Finland and Sweden to join the Alliance and explained why it was time for “Nordic NATO”. *****