It is near consensual among Europeans that they need to strengthen the ‘European pillar in NATO’. This study traces the evolution of the concept of the European pillar, delineates potential meaning, and spells out what it would take to operationalize it.
At the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, allies pledged to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 – including 1.5% for resilience and security-related investment. Yet what counts towards this 1.5% remains unclear. As European governments face mounting fiscal pressure, funds must be spent wisely. Strategic investment in infrastructure, rail, clean energy, resilient supply chains and nature restoration could reinforce deterrence, strengthen economic competitiveness and address climate and biodiversity risks in tandem.
As the relationship with the U.S. government is fundamentally shifting, Germany faces a critical choice between deepening transatlantic defense procurement or seizing the moment to build out Europe's defense-tech ecosystem.
This policy brief explores the long-standing divergences in Europe and India’s approach to multilateral governance—rooted in historical experience and interest-based considerations—to better understand the current moment and identify arenas of promise
This policy brief explores how a focused agenda on clean mobility, renewable energy, circular economy, digital infrastructure, and climate adaptation could move the relationship beyond ambition to real-world action.
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.
With geopolitical multipolarity reshaping space, this brief calls for a structured India–EU Space Agenda that couples market incentives with diplomatic alignment.
This policy brief explores how the Global Gateway can be effectively leveraged to foster strategic synergy between the EU and Indo-Pacific partners, with a focus on India’s regional connectivity priorities.
The ReArm Europe/Readiness 2030 proposal has limited fiscal impact and is unable to address the persistent lack of coordination among Member States, as it does not adequately incentivise joint procurement. Instead, the authors suggest to future-proof the EU's fiscal rules and develop an EU grants-mechanism tied to strategic cooperation, greater parliamentary oversight, and a broader concept of security that includes climate and democratic resilience.
Subsea data cables are the digital lifelines of our modern world. Yet, external factors frequently expose vulnerabilities in the network and its supporting infrastructure. While around 150 cable faults occur globally each year, states suspect a growing number of cable faults to be linked to hybrid or malicious activity. Recognising that many states around the world face similar risks, the EU Action Plan on Cable Security proposes to establish “an advanced cable diplomacy”. But cable diplomacy is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. Technological sensitivities, dual-use aspects and geopolitical considerations demand a tailored approach. Where and how should the EU build effective cable diplomacy partnerships?
