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Europe

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Europe is described here in a geographical sense. It is not limited to the European Union, and includes, for example, the United Kingdom and the Balkans. It remains central to international relations.

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Flag of EU and flag of China in European Council offices
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Date de publication
June 2024

The Future of Europe’s Strategic Deterrence is (also) at Sea

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The French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle"
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The French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle"
Credits : Joris van Boven/Shutterstock
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A cursory look at both France and the UK suggests that the future of European nuclear deterrence is at sea.

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France’s Place Within NATO: Toward a Strategic Aggiornamento?

Date de publication
27 June 2023
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With a rapidly deteriorating security environment, a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, internal disputes exploding into public view, and questions being raised about the scope of its security responsibilities, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) seemed to be in dire straits at the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Global Financial Shifts: The Impact of Dollar Sanctions and Frozen Russian Assets

24 September 2024
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An interview with Brad Setser, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow (Council on Foreign Relations) led at Ifri on September 24, 2024.

Dollar-based financial sanctions have been increasing, particularly since the beginning of the century. Is this phenomenon likely to significantly alter the international role of the dollar?

There is a lot of controversy about the in which way frozen assets from Russia’s central bank should be treated, regarding both the assets themselves and the associated revenues. What consequences do you foresee for the international financial system?

Critical Raw Materials, Economic Statecraft and Europe's Dependence on China

Date de publication
01 October 2024
Accroche

As China tightens export controls on critical minerals, it is important to put Beijing's policies in perspective and analyse how Europe can respond.  

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State Elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg - Extreme Parties on the Rise?

Date de publication
24 September 2024
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The Alternative for Germany (AfD) became Germany's strongest political force in the regional elections in Thuringia and Saxony.

Towards a European Nuclear Deterrent

Date de publication
20 September 2024
Accroche

While major European powers may have to contemplate nuclear deterrence without America, the national flexibility and European financial support required to make it feasible is currently difficult to imagine.

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The Troubled Reorganization of Critical Raw Materials Value Chains: An Assessment of European De-risking Policies

Date de publication
30 September 2024
Accroche

With the demand for critical raw materials set to, at a minimum, double by 2030 in the context of the current energy transition policies, the concentration of critical raw materials (CRM) supplies and, even more, of refining capacities in a handful of countries has become one of the paramount issues in international, bilateral and national discussions. China’s dominant position and successive export controls on critical raw materials (lately, germanium, gallium, rare earths processing technology, graphite, antimony) point to a trend of weaponizing critical dependencies.

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EUDIS, HEDI, DIANA: What's behind Three Defense Innovation Acronyms?

Date de publication
25 September 2024
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In Europe, with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine showing little sign of abating, a persistent gap remains between security needs and defense spending. According to a 2006 commitment enshrined at the 2014 Wales NATO summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members should disburse no less than 2% of their national gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, out of which 20% is to be spent on equipment and research and development. In 2024, only 23 Allies out of 32 are expected to meet or exceed this target, though a significant improvement from only three in 2014. This total includes the United States (US) devoting 3.38% of its GDP to defense, constituting almost 70% of all NATO member defense spending combined. 

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Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?

Date de publication
25 September 2024
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Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.

Ensuring a Fair Green Transition

Date de publication
06 September 2024
Accroche

“Humanity has opened the gates of hell”, stated UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023, emphasising that we are currently on a path of global warming above 2.4°C or even 2.9°C.

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Between „Strategic Autonomy” and „Zeitenwende”: The Importance of Trade Between The EU and Mercosur

Date de publication
11 September 2024
Accroche

This policy paper analyses the geopolitical and economic significance of the EU-Mercosur agreement for the European Union (EU) in the context of the EU’s new European Economic Security Strategy.

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France’s Place Within NATO: Toward a Strategic Aggiornamento?

Date de publication
27 June 2023
Accroche

With a rapidly deteriorating security environment, a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, internal disputes exploding into public view, and questions being raised about the scope of its security responsibilities, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) seemed to be in dire straits at the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Critical Raw Materials, Economic Statecraft and Europe's Dependence on China

Date de publication
01 October 2024
Accroche

As China tightens export controls on critical minerals, it is important to put Beijing's policies in perspective and analyse how Europe can respond.  

Image principale

State Elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg - Extreme Parties on the Rise?

Date de publication
24 September 2024
Accroche

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) became Germany's strongest political force in the regional elections in Thuringia and Saxony.

Towards a European Nuclear Deterrent

Date de publication
20 September 2024
Accroche

While major European powers may have to contemplate nuclear deterrence without America, the national flexibility and European financial support required to make it feasible is currently difficult to imagine.

Image principale

The Troubled Reorganization of Critical Raw Materials Value Chains: An Assessment of European De-risking Policies

Date de publication
30 September 2024
Accroche

With the demand for critical raw materials set to, at a minimum, double by 2030 in the context of the current energy transition policies, the concentration of critical raw materials (CRM) supplies and, even more, of refining capacities in a handful of countries has become one of the paramount issues in international, bilateral and national discussions. China’s dominant position and successive export controls on critical raw materials (lately, germanium, gallium, rare earths processing technology, graphite, antimony) point to a trend of weaponizing critical dependencies.

Image principale

EUDIS, HEDI, DIANA: What's behind Three Defense Innovation Acronyms?

Date de publication
25 September 2024
Accroche

In Europe, with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine showing little sign of abating, a persistent gap remains between security needs and defense spending. According to a 2006 commitment enshrined at the 2014 Wales NATO summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members should disburse no less than 2% of their national gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, out of which 20% is to be spent on equipment and research and development. In 2024, only 23 Allies out of 32 are expected to meet or exceed this target, though a significant improvement from only three in 2014. This total includes the United States (US) devoting 3.38% of its GDP to defense, constituting almost 70% of all NATO member defense spending combined. 

Image principale

Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?

Date de publication
25 September 2024
Accroche

Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.

Ensuring a Fair Green Transition

Date de publication
06 September 2024
Accroche

“Humanity has opened the gates of hell”, stated UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023, emphasising that we are currently on a path of global warming above 2.4°C or even 2.9°C.

Image principale

Between „Strategic Autonomy” and „Zeitenwende”: The Importance of Trade Between The EU and Mercosur

Date de publication
11 September 2024
Accroche

This policy paper analyses the geopolitical and economic significance of the EU-Mercosur agreement for the European Union (EU) in the context of the EU’s new European Economic Security Strategy.

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France Adapts to an Era of Strategic Competition With China

Date de publication
05 June 2024
Accroche
Under Macron, France is positioning itself as a "balanced power," carefully navigating the complexities of engaging with China. 
 
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Europe faces up to China's EV dominance as carbon-zero targets loom

08 May 2024
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As Xi travels through EU this week, automakers weigh whether to fight or team up with cheaper Chinese rivals.

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'Depth of Franco-German bond': Macron to meet German president in rare state visit

24 May 2024
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French President Emmanuel Macron will visit his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Sunday in what is seen as the highest level of diplomatic courtesy gestures.

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Macron accused of rolling out red carpet for ‘dictator’ Xi

06 May 2024
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French president criticised over ‘obsequious’ welcome for Chinese leader who is ‘supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine’
 
 
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How Macron and Scholz broke the Franco-German alliance at the heart of the EU

24 March 2024
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Breakdown of continental partnership is a threat to Europe – and could be catastrophic for Ukraine. It was meant to be a patching up of the notoriously fraught Macron-Scholz relationship, a “reset”, to borrow Hillary Clinton’s expression.

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Macron and Scholz Meet to Patch up Their Fraying Ties

14 March 2024
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Allies fret that Franco-German animosity is undermining western unity over Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Berlin on Friday for talks designed to repair a fractured Franco-German relationship marred by caustic public spats and mutual recriminations over the war in Ukraine.

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Without a Pact with Mercosur, the EU risks leaving China free in South America

06 February 2024
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The agreement EU-Mercosur It has been a banner of the recent protest by French farmers, who denounced unfair competition on the part of South Americans. However, if Paris closes the door to this pact, the way will be left clear to China, warn politicians and analysts consulted by EFE.

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France Links Conversation in Russian to Star of David Graffiti

08 November 2023
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After more than 200 blue stars were stenciled on buildings in and around Paris, prosecutors say they are investigating whether a foreign intermediary paid a couple to spray paint them.

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Macron's Taiwan comments expose muddled China policy

27 April 2023
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French President Emmanuel Macron's call for Europe to steer clear of a Taiwan conflict -- rooted in France's pride and deep-seated resistance to following America's lead -- has raised questions about where he and Paris really stand on China.

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France's Macron is sending China the wrong signals

12 April 2023
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More realistic posture would strengthen Paris' role in Indo-Pacific region

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Does Macron's stance on Taiwan weaken G7 deterrence against China?

11 April 2023
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One of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s top goals for next month’s Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima is to create a united front on issues like China and Ukraine. But finding a unified approach to dealing with Beijing’s assertiveness might have just become harder.

Global Financial Shifts: The Impact of Dollar Sanctions and Frozen Russian Assets

24 September 2024
Accroche

An interview with Brad Setser, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow (Council on Foreign Relations) led at Ifri on September 24, 2024.

Dollar-based financial sanctions have been increasing, particularly since the beginning of the century. Is this phenomenon likely to significantly alter the international role of the dollar?

There is a lot of controversy about the in which way frozen assets from Russia’s central bank should be treated, regarding both the assets themselves and the associated revenues. What consequences do you foresee for the international financial system?

Toward a New European Security Order? Foreign Policy Shifts in Response to Russia’s War on Ukraine (webinar)

01 June 2022
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This online discussion takes stock of how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed national foreign and security policies and how these shifts affect Europe’s security architecture.

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The EU, Africa, and the Issue of Climate Change: What Prospects for Cooperation? Video with Olumide Abimbola

17 February 2022
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An interview with Olumide Abimbola, founder and director of the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI).

U.S. Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump

12 December 2019
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Despite a very particular style, the Trump administration's foreign policy continues on many points the American withdrawal from World affairs which had started under Barack Obama. The main trends of thought of American foreign policy show this evolution, with the resurgence of non-interventionist and even nationalist ideas amongs DC think-tankers.

Building Bridges Conversation Series - Ireland & the Netherlands

05 January 2016
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This new episode of the Building Bridges Conversation Series is part of the "Building Bridges" project, which aims to foster debate on the future of the European Union and offer top quality analyses on how each member state perceives the EU. In this video, Vivien Pertusot, coordinator of the project, discusses with Marie Cross from the Institute of International and European Affairs (Ireland) and Adriaan Schout from Clingendael (the Netherlands). 

Building Bridges Conversation Series - Luxembourg & Spain

16 December 2015
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This new episode of the Building Bridges Conversation Series is part of the "Building Bridges" project, which aims to foster debate on the future of the European Union and offer top quality analyses on how each member state perceives the EU. In this video, Vivien Pertusot, coordinator of the project, discusses with Guido Lessing from the Centre d’études et de recherches européennes (Luxembourg) and Charles Powell from Real Instituto Elcano (Spain). 

Building Bridges Conversation Series - Slovakia & Poland

01 July 2015
Accroche

This first episode of the Building Bridges Conversation Series is part of the "Building Bridges" project, which aims to foster debate on the future of the European Union and offer top quality analyses on how each member state perceives the EU. In this video, Vivien Pertusot, coordinator of the project discusses with Ana Benje from Comenius University (Slovakia) and Nathan Dufour from PISM (Poland).

Support independent French research

Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.

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Related centers and programs
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The Pariser Platz (Paris Square) on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.

 

Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.

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France, Austria Flags, European Union
Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (ÖFZ)
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The Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (ÖFZ/CFA) is a Franco-Austrian intergovernmental organization, initiated in 1976 by Prime Minister Jacques Chirac and Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, in order to develop economic relations between Western and Eastern Europe, contributing to the creation of a Europe of peace.


After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the ÖFZ/CFA refocused its action on the problems following the enlargement of the European Union, and integrated the following countries in its field of activities : Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the Baltic countries, Romania and Bulgaria. ÖFZ/CFA's vocation, as a space for reflection and exchange, is in fact reinforced by the need to support the new member countries of the Union in their integration process. Since 2004, the ÖFZ/CFA has also turned towards the Union's new neighbors, in particular towards the countries of the Western Balkans, which perceive their future from a European perspective.


The ÖFZ/CFA strives to place all of its exchanges in a global perspective concerning the future of our continent. Today it centers its activities around three directions: the Franco-Austrian bilateral dialogue, the future of the European Union, the future recomposition of the continent.

Reports of all events organized by the ÖFZ/CFA are available on its website (http://oefz.at). The ÖFZ/CFA's budget is provided by the French and Austrian foreign ministries. Depending on the themes addressed, the ÖFZ/CFA calls on European public and private institutions to help finance its meetings. The CFA's orientations benefit from the recommendations of an Orientation Council, approved by a Board of Directors, which elects from among its members a president and a secretary general.

Page image credits
Flag of EU and flag of China in European Council offices
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock