Europe’s defence map is being redrawn. Our new Böll EU Brief tracks over 160 defence partnerships signed since 2014 among EU countries, the UK and Ukraine – most of them after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Bilateralism boosts trust, interoperability and procurement speed, but also risks duplication and fragmentation. To turn this patchwork into strategy, the EU and NATO should map and integrate these deals into joint planning, strengthen the European Defence Agency’s role, and use bilaterals to offset declining US support.
The fate of Ukraine’s battlefield will be decided at the US ballot box. This paper explores how the European Union and its Member States could adjust their Ukraine and NATO policies, depending on the outcome of the US election.
The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2022 (WNISR2022) assesses the status and trends of the international nuclear industry. It provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear power plant data, including information on operation, production, construction, and decommissioning. It assesses the status of new-build programs in existing as well as in potential newcomer nuclear countries. The report also compares the development of nuclear power and renewable energy globally.
The EU must put an end to unabated fossil gas use by 2050 at the latest to comply with its climate neutrality objective. To stay within the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C, the use of unabated fossil gas would have to end significantly earlier – by 2035. This report outlines the implications of this challenge for the management of the energy transition in a way that rapidly phases out Russian gas imports, protects security of supply and energy-poor consumers as well as the climate.
Current discussions about growing food on fallow land are missing the point: the price-reduction effect would be very low. This publication argues that it would be better to provide financial aid to the most vulnerable countries in the Global South.
Ukraine was among the first EU neighbours to announce their readiness to contribute to the European Green Deal and a high-level EU-Ukraine dialogue on this topic has already commenced. However, what are the contours of Ukraine’s engagement with the EGD and how will it move forward?
In Ukraine, especially vulnerable groups were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has become even more challenging, considering the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine and the unstable political system.
Are the Western sanctions against Russia working, how long should they remain in force and are there any other means to influence Russia’s politics? What else is it the EU can do to strengthen Ukraine? Is a long-term EU membership for Ukraine feasible and how would Russia react to that? What exactly is the driving force behind Putin’s policy towards Ukraine and how can EU-Russian relations evolve under such hostile circumstances?
