Ireland: Bridging the Gap from the Western Periphery of the Union
Despite the difficult economic crisis Ireland has experienced and the implementation of a far-reaching bailout programme, the Irish continue to believe that their EU membership has been positive in political and economic terms. As a small state in the EU, Ireland hopes to continue to be able to shape policy outcomes and remain actively involved in the core of the EU.
Ireland is an open economy, which requires a favourable climate for exports and inward investment. This explains its support for decreasing barriers to the free movement of services, especially in the digital realm where Ireland has a competitive edge, and in trade.
Ireland is pragmatic with regard to the degree of integration it deems necessary, but has always striven to remain at the core of the EU. Nonetheless, most Irish people wish to see the Economic and Monetary Union advance to a level where stability can be guaranteed alongside a budgetary and financial system.
This publication is part of the "Building Bridges Paper Series". For more information about this project, click here.
Available in:
Regions and themes
Share
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Ireland: Bridging the Gap from the Western Periphery of the Union
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.
Pakistan and the Israel-Palestine Conflict: Transformation in Pakistan’s Approach After the War in Gaza
Pakistan has long combined vocal support for the Palestinian cause with covert engagement with Israel. Since the war in Gaza, this balance has become untenable: public opinion is united against Israel, joining Trump’s Board of Peace has drawn rare cross-party criticism, and new regional alignments put normalization out of reach.
The Oceania Factor in France’s Evolving Indo-Pacific Strategy
This paper examines the two-way relationship between France’s Indo-Pacific strategy and developments in Oceania. Oceania was not a priority in the initial years of France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, as the region was largely treated as secondary to major strategic hotspots and key partnerships, while overseas territories were primarily handled as domestic issues and recipients of a top-down strategy.