The European Union in the Fog, Introduction.
The Building Bridges project looks at the national perspectives on the European Union. This publication gathers contributions from across the EU. It sheds light on Member States’ motivations to participate in the EU and views on its future. Accessible and analytical, this volume is an ideal reference guide for practitioners, experts, students and European citizens.
This publication gathers articles from all across the Member States. Each chapter follows the same structure answering five questions: “What does your country hope to gain from its membership to the European Union?”, “Do you think that the European Union appears to be a clear project in your country? If not, what are the main reasons?”, “Which degree of integration seems adequate to the position and ambitions of your country both politically and economically?”, “According to you, how could we strengthen the idea of belonging to a common European public sphere among your national citizens?”, and “Which policies would you deem essential to conduct at the EU level in order to better legitimise the European project?”. It enables an easier comparative reading. The papers aim to provide a solid analysis on each of the 28 Member States in a way that is accessible to the wider public.
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The European Union in the Fog, Introduction.
Space Security and Missile Defense : Japan's Quest for Autonomy and Indispensability
Seeking greater autonomy without loosening its alliance with the United States, Japan has steadily turned space into a pillar of its defense, building sovereign capabilities that also make it an indispensable partner, to Washington and beyond. This approach raises questions for Europe, whose ties with Japan are multiplying but which has yet to define what it can concretely bring to Tokyo, particularly in missile warning.
China’s Climate Leadership after Hormuz: How Should Europe Adjust?
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 offered an unplanned stress test of China’s approach to energy security, and China passed it far better than most expected. The episode demonstrated that the underlying risk of supply disruption is real, while validating a preference for resilience and resource security that has long underpinned Chinese energy and climate policy and has now been reinforced under the banner of building an “energy powerhouse.”
China as an ambivalent supporter of the WTO and the multilateral trading system
Amid rising trade tensions between Europe and China and broader uncertainty in the international rules-based trade regime, Beijing has worked to preserve and bolster the multilateral trading system while at the same time failing to reform the domestic policies that have served to undermine that same system.
Canada in the Indo-Pacific: Sustaining the Pivot, Partnering with France
Since the launch of Canada’s inaugural Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) in November 2022, Ottawa has moved—with notable but uneven momentum—from the margins of regional engagement to a position of growing strategic visibility. The Strategy, backed by an initial $2.3 billion five-year investment, reflects a long-overdue recognition: Canada is a Pacific nation whose prosperity and security are inextricably linked to the stability of the world’s most economically and strategically consequential region.