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@ecfr.bsky.social European Power. For everything on #European foreign policy strategy, instruments and cohesion.
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"The world will not fall apart in 2026, but we will continue to muddle through an illiberal wave which is clearly not just a phase", write @markhleonard.bsky.social, Jeremy Shapiro, and Anand Sundar. Read the ten foreign policy trends that will shape 2026.

https://bit.ly/4qH5mjk
2026: The year we stop pretending it’s just a phase – European Council on Foreign Relations
Ten key foreign policy trends for the year ahead
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January 7, 2026 at 5:24 PM
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🎧New year, new podcast!

This week, @markhleonard.bsky.social welcomes Jeremy Shapiro to look back at the year that was and ahead to what 2026 might bring. Together, they mark their last year’s predictions and setting out ten bold forecasts for the year.

https://bit.ly/3LfJ35d
bit.ly
January 2, 2026 at 7:25 AM
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Time to get over your X, Europe! Our new policy brief from Giorgos Verdi warns that the European Union must urgently develop an independent “EuroStack” of critical technologies to solve the reliance from American tech.
https://bit.ly/48ZLCBA
Get over your X: A European plan to escape American technology – European Council on Foreign Relations
Foreign technology companies cannot be entrusted with meeting Europe’s growing digital needs. This includes American big tech firms. Here’s what Europeans shoul
bit.ly
December 28, 2025 at 7:47 AM
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Here's ECFR’s most popular reads of 2025, reflecting stark and changing dynamics of the world. Trump has been back in the White House for a whole year, Russia is still waging war in Ukraine and Europeans are trying to reassert their influence in a multipolar world.

Read more:https://bit.ly/48XCqMS
The year in review: ECFR readers’ top choices of 2025 – European Council on Foreign Relations
Donald Trump has been back in the White House for a whole year, Russia is still waging war in Ukraine and Europeans are trying to reassert their influence in a
bit.ly
December 29, 2025 at 6:51 AM
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Here are seven takeaways on what the EU’s decision to grant a €90bn loan to Kyiv using the EU budget means for Europeans, Ukraine and the fate of Russian reserves, writes @agathedemarais.bsky.social

https://bit.ly/3MMgbSH
Seven things to know about the EU’s €90bn loan to Ukraine – European Council on Foreign Relations
Ukraine receives a vital lifeline, but it is not coming from immobilised Russian reserves.
bit.ly
December 19, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Europe’s resilience isn’t just steel and silicon. Biosolutions must be part of defence and resilience strategies—backed by coordinated policy, investment & industry collaboration. Key takeaway from the ‘Securing Tomorrow’ conference. #ECFRDARE, @ecfreuropeansec.bsky.social, @danskindustri.dk
December 19, 2025 at 10:50 AM
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Europe must urgently build an independent “EuroStack”of critical technologies — or risk foreign powers weaponising its digital dependencies, argues @giorgosverdi.bsky.social in a new report out today. A 🧵
December 10, 2025 at 11:16 AM
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A greener European future does not have to come at the expense of other key priorities, namely defence and competitiveness. Rather, they support each other. A greener EU is also a safer and wealthier one, writes @matsengstrom.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4hlleVt
It’s not easy being green: Breaking Europe’s climate spending deadlock
The EU’s next budget will shape its future. Member states must strike a grand bargain to decarbonise Europe and, by extension, drive EU security and competitiveness.
bit.ly
October 26, 2025 at 10:08 AM
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Europeans need collective leverage to even start a conversation with Beijing—otherwise acceptance becomes the new normal and Beijing will continue to gradually escalate, write @jankaoertel.bsky.social and @tobiasgehrke.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/475mPLG
Escalate to negotiate: How Europe should respond to Chinese export restrictions
Beijing is turning its rare earth monopoly into a weapon. The EU needs to treat this as the emergency that it is and unleash its anti-coercion shield to bring China to the negotiating table…
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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The new government programme should reflect the view, which has increasingly gained ground in the Netherlands, that economic and job security are not for free but come at a European budgetary price, writes Herman Quarles @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/47fT09U
When the chips are down: Nexperia, Europe and the US-China trade and tech war
The case of Nexperia is another reminder Europeans need to speed up the assembly of their own trade and tech tools…
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 10:44 AM
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European industry needs to decarbonise, or it risks falling behind in green technology while countries like China race ahead, writes @matsengstrom.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/3JmD5i4
It’s not easy being green: Breaking Europe’s climate spending deadlock
The EU’s next budget will shape its future. Member states must strike a grand bargain to decarbonise Europe and, by extension, drive EU security and competitiveness.
bit.ly
October 21, 2025 at 7:35 AM
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The EU needs to go beyond its AI Continent Action Plan and—like the US—develop an AI foreign policy. This is vital to allow the EU to amplify its existing AI efforts, writes @giorgosverdi.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://ecfr.eu/article/why-the-eu-needs-an-ai-foreign-policy/
Why the EU needs an AI foreign policy
The EU needs to go beyond its AI Continent Action Plan and—like the US—develop an AI foreign policy. This is vital to allow the EU to amplify its existing AI efforts while insuring it against AI…
ecfr.eu
October 16, 2025 at 1:32 PM
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By presenting Kirk as a martyr killed by “leftist hate”, conservative leaders across the Atlantic can reaffirm their core narrative: that they are victims, persecuted and silenced by liberal elites, writes @pawelzerka.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/46XO1L0
The imported martyr: Echoes of Charlie Kirk in Europe
By presenting Kirk as a martyr killed by “leftist hate”, conservative leaders across the Atlantic can reaffirm their core narrative: that they are victims, persecuted and silenced by liberal elites…
bit.ly
October 9, 2025 at 8:34 AM
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By uniting to stand up for their values and step out of America’s shadow, the EU and European countries can show they are not props on Trump’s soundstage, but autonomous actors in transatlantic and global politics, writes @pawelzerka.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/48xylAg
Reality show: Why Europe must not cave in Trump’s culture war
In today’s transatlantic relationship, Europe’s every concession on policy plays into Trump’s culture war—feeding an image of European weakness…
ecfr.eu
September 25, 2025 at 9:20 AM
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Invece di rimuginare su ogni parola di Trump, gli europei dovrebbero guardare a sé stessi e portare avanti le riforme economiche necessarie per rafforzare il ruolo globale dell'🇪🇺.
✍️ @agathedemarais.bsky.social x @ecfrpower.bsky.social x @ecfrgeotech.bsky.social
Ride the wave: A big, beautiful European strategy for Trumponomics
The US president is throwing the EU lots of economic curveballs. Brussels should not be distracted by these; instead, it should double down on adopting measures that will benefit the bloc long after…
buff.ly
September 17, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Von der Leyen rightly did not mince her words: the EU is in a fight. The international order, she warned, is shifting from rules-based to power-based, writes Tiago Antunes @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/48hJzJ5
Podium of power: Von der Leyen’s State of the Union address confronts Europe’s defence preparedness
Ursula von der Leyen’s 2025 State of the Union speech stressed that Europe faces mounting threats from Russia, instability in the Middle East and reliance on the US. To become a true geopolitical powe...
bit.ly
September 17, 2025 at 8:18 AM
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Starmer’s managerial competence would have been well suited to the top job in a period of stability: but these times call for leadership, writes Nick Witney @ecfreuropeansec.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/3KifQFW
A tale of two leaders: The difference between Starmer and von der Leyen
The return-to-work pitches of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British prime minister Kier Starmer sketch two very different pictures: one was full of ambition and strength, the ...
bit.ly
September 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
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As the French prime minister tends his resignation following a no confidence vote, options remain for President Emmanuel Macron to keep French international activism alive, write @celiabelin.bsky.social and Constance Victor @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4pdcMuQ
The PM is dead, long live the PM! Why France will remain internationally bullish
As the French prime minister tends his resignation following a no confidence vote, options remain for President Emmanuel Macron to keep French international activism alive
bit.ly
September 9, 2025 at 3:31 PM
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The EU’s AI foreign policy could also act as a lever to amplify the global effect of the EU’s AI regulation. For example, Europeans could make access to European data conditional on signing the AI Code of Practice, writes @giorgosverdi.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/3I1L979
Why the EU needs an AI foreign policy
The EU needs to go beyond its AI Continent Action Plan and—like the US—develop an AI foreign policy. This is vital to allow the EU to amplify its existing AI efforts while insuring it against AI…
ecfr.eu
September 8, 2025 at 11:16 AM
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Poland’s domestic paralysis weakens the entire Western response precisely when unity and strength are most critical, writes Marta Prochwicz Jazowska @ecfrpower.bsky.social
Home and away: Why Poland is fighting a war on two fronts
Poland should be at the forefront in deterring Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Instead, its government is hindered by political infighting and an unclear position towards Ukrainians in Poland.
ecfr.eu
September 8, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Check out the latest op-ed from from Senior Policy Fellow,
@matsengstrom.bsky.social, on the MFF negotiations and maintaining the EU's green tech competitiveness (in Swedish).
August 25, 2025 at 1:02 PM
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The EU needs to develop a concrete policy to address Russian annexation actions in prospective member states like Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
For a detailed look at what this might entail, read the latest policy brief from Tefta Kelmendi and Sergi Kapanadze @ECFRPower.bsky.social bit.ly/4le7c8m
August 11, 2025 at 7:55 AM
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The Trump administration has made clear its distain for the multilateral system. As it reviews US participation, Europeans are faced with a tricky balance of selectively embracing these reforms while filling the America-sized hole, write
@celiabelin.bsky.social and Anthony Dworkin.
Multilateralism with less America: Trump’s plan for international organisations
The Trump administration has made clear its distain for the multilateral system. As it reviews US participation, Europeans are faced with a tricky balance of selectively embracing these reforms while…
buff.ly
August 1, 2025 at 10:33 AM
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Last weekend, Ursula von der Leyen visited Trump at his Turnberry golf course to accept a trade deal which largely acquiesces to American demands. The deal avoided a trade war, but Europeans need to guard the deal's positive aspects.
Read @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social's policy alert:
Scot-free: What Europeans should take from Trump’s trade deal
Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump have announced a 15% tariff on most EU goods exported to the US. The compromise has avoided a trade war for now—but Europeans need to safeguard the deal’s…
bit.ly
July 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
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🍃In a Trumpian world, Europeans must drive climate action through stronger climate partnerships with countries across the globe, write Susi Dennison and Mats Engström in the new policy brief for @ecfrpower.bsky.social
Here's how Europeans can act:
The power of partnerships: European climate leadership with less America
In a Trumpian world, Europeans must drive climate action through stronger climate partnerships with countries across the globe. Here’s how they can act.
bit.ly
July 11, 2025 at 11:48 AM