Summer witnessed a sharp escalation in the Russia-Europe confrontation, amidst continued partial closure of Hormuz and major extreme weather events. Oil and gas prices are high, and the price and supply outlooks for Europe this winter are very challenging for oil products, LNG and possibly, electricity markets which see growing contamination from the Hormuz crisis and growing risks of disbalances. Moreover, the phase-out of Russian gas supplies comes with renewed risks.

Since the end of the Cold War, the number of US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe has fallen more than seventy-fold, yet their presence in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey remains a quiet pillar of NATO's deterrence posture. This "nuclear sharing" arrangement, central to the Alliance since its founding, has long been contested by public opinion, political parties, and civil society across Europe, without ever being abandoned by host governments. This paradox lies at the heart of the seminar: why does such an unpopular policy persist?

As part of the intelligence-focused BBS, organized in partnership with the Intelligence College in Europe, Ifri welcomes Mr. Philipp Wolff, Coordinator of the German Federal Intelligence services at the Federal Chancellery.

As the United States, China, and India solidify their lunar ambitions, Europe is still seeking to define its stance: should it be a reliable partner or an autonomous strategic player? This conference will examine the stakes of this new race to the Moon and Europe’s interest in asserting itself as a lunar power through partnerships, industrial ambitions, and whether its participation in the new lunar race serves as a lever for strategic autonomy and internal cohesion, or an illustration of its dependence.

Since the return of high-intensity warfare in Europe and the rise of strategic tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the issue of managing escalation between nuclear powers has taken center stage in U.S. strategic thinking and, to a lesser extent, in the European one.

The first edition of the “Paris Dialogue” took place on 8 and 9 June. The initiative was launched by Ifri, France’s leading think tank, and AGDA, a center of excellence based in Abu Dhabi. It is co-chaired by Thierry de Montbrial, executive chairman of Ifri, and Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to H.H. the President of the United Arab Emirates, and deputy chairman of the board of trustees of AGDA.

The Ifri Center for Geopolitics of Technology is pleased to welcome two leading figures in AI: Geoffrey Hinton (2024 Nobel Prize in Physics), often referred to as the “godfather of AI”; and Arthur Mensch (CEO of Mistral AI), a key player in the emerging European AI landscape.

Amidst soaring defense spending, higher borrowing costs, erosion of energy intensive industries, renewed energy price hikes and possibly physical shortages, the European Union and its Member States are again struggling to stabilize the European economies. Governments are tempted by uncoordinated, short-term moves while in Brussels, there is a struggle between the “more of the same” and the “scrap it largely” approaches to the transition.

Against an international backdrop marked by the war in Ukraine, Russia’s emergence as a lasting threat to Europe, and an uncertain U.S. commitment to the Old Continent, questions about the future of the transatlantic relationship are mounting.

Between fragmentation and interdependence: rethinking global governance

Created by Thierry de Montbrial, founder and executive chairman of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), the World Policy Conference (WPC) will hold its 18th edition from April 24 to 26, 2026, at Domaine Les Fontaines in Gouvieux, Chantilly.