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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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EU flag waving in front of European Parliament building. Brussels, Belgium
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Publications
Date de publication
May 2025

Trump's Trade War: What Answers for the European Union?

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Concept de guerre commerciale, États-Unis/Union européenne
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USA and European Union Trade, Tariffs and Commercial War
Credits : Tomas Ragina/Shutterstock.com
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The announcement, on April 2, 2025, of “reciprocal tariffs” by the United States has opened a sequence of profound break with decades of established trade policy practices, where the administration behaviour has been marked by dogmatic blindness, amateurism, and self-serving interests. 

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France and China link up in global infrastructure projects

24 February 2022
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Paris and Beijing have agreed to build infrastructure projects in Africa, South East Asia and Eastern Europe. But will this help shine light on China’s opaque foreign investments? Or just give the appearance of doing so?

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The French-Greek Partnership: Beyond the Eastern Mediterranean

Date de publication
23 February 2022
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The bilateral defense agreement signed by France and Greece in September 2021 confirms the strategic turn of the relationship between the two countries. It was already unveiled in 2020 when Paris supported Athens to counter Turkish maritime operations that France and Greece considered very hostile.

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Crowded and Dangerous Orbits: European Space Governance at a Time of Potentially Saturating Programs

Date de publication
18 February 2022
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The unprecedented growth of space activities, the multiplication as well as diversification of players involved in the exploitation of outer space, and even, more generally, the dependence of all sectors of activity on space infrastructures are some of the main phenomena that have led to a progressive overuse of orbits and to saturation in the frequency spectrum. 

Alain DE NEVE
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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).

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Europe and the Geopolitics of 5G: Walking a Technological Tightrope

Date de publication
31 January 2022
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The acute Sino-American tensions which started in 2018 have been coupled with controversies around 5G technology, exemplified by the spotlight placed on Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei and the security risks associated with its use. For Europe, the 5G challenge at the international level is drawing a very complex landscape. 

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Will the European presidency help Macron secure a second term?

18 January 2022
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The French president, whose leadership will be challenged in April, may seek reforms as he guides the EU. With months to go until its presidential election, France took on the rotating presidency of the European Council on January 1.

Korea-EU Direct Investment Links: The Neglected Facet of a Tight Partnership

Date de publication
06 January 2022
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Despite their difference in size, Korea and the EU have developed over time a strong and deep relation through direct investment flows. Germany dominates the relationship, but there remains ample room for the other EU member-states to further develop their relations with Korea.

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Strengthening Sovereignty in the Era of Global Value Chains

Date de publication
14 December 2021
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How to reduce the vulnerabilities induced by these global value chains to be more independent, while taking into account the reality of these productive processes which precisely generate interdependencies?

Paul HERAULT
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European Economic Governance: Past Errors and Future Promises

Date de publication
14 December 2021
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The eurozone crisis marked a real failure of European Union (EU) policy, which led to mediocre economic performance and the erosion of its political legitimacy among the populations of member states.

Vivien SCHMIDT

Trade

Date de publication
13 December 2021
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Françoise Nicolas contributed the chapter on trade, providing more insights into the opportunities and challenges South Korea and the EU need to address to revive the rules-based multilateral trading system.

Françoise NICOLAS Sohyun Zoe Lee

February Gas Pains in Europe - Coping Is Not Managing: the Italian Response to the Gas Crisis

Date de publication
22 February 2012
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The recent cold spell that gripped much of Europe was a test for the European gas network. In many countries temperatures fell dramatically to -10°C during the first week of February, even dropping a bone chilling - 22°C in some places.

As the European Commission(s Director General for Energy Philippe Lowe said during a speech at our Annual Conference last Thursday (February 16) in Brussels, Europe(s gas network was able to respond to the sharp increase in demand despite a simultaneous drop in supply from Gazprom.

Laura PARMIGIANI

2012, a turning point for Europe in space

Date de publication
09 February 2012
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In 2012, several crucial decisions lie ahead, most notably at the ESA Ministerial Council next fall and regarding the status of space within the next MFF of the EU. These will reveal the degree of political will to pursue an ambitious ESP in times of economic and financial constraint.

The European Power System - Decarbonization and Cost Reduction: Lost in Transmissions?

Date de publication
15 January 2012
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Europe’s energy policy is commonly defined by three axes of equal importance: security of supplies, competitiveness and sustainable development. The European Commission is mandated to develop the policy tools that allow the implementation of this common policy. Early on, challenges arose from the trade-offs to be made not only between these three pillars but also between a common European policy and national approaches. The European Commission has always had to struggle in attempting to keep a balanced line.

Key Trends in the European Earth Observation Sector

Date de publication
18 December 2011
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An ambitious Earth Observation (EO) policy could bring significant benefits to Europe both regarding the fight against climate change and the competitiveness of its EO industry and service sectors.

Gazprom and the EU: Raiding the Gas Companies

Date de publication
30 September 2011
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It was a matter of time before the Commission competition authorities looked into the business arrangements between Gazprom and its European partners. Some would ask why it took so long. 

Commission Communication of the EU Energy External Policy: Was There an Alternative?

Date de publication
28 September 2011
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EU is the world’s largest net energy importer and consumer, so why do its Members continue to negotiate individually with the rest of the world rather than as one big market with a big voice?

Laura PARMIGIANI

Space Weather and NEOs in the European Space Policy

Date de publication
10 August 2011
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Although often overshadowed by a focus on security concerns, Space weather and NEOs are important elements of Europe’s SSA program.

The Use of Space for Maritime Security in Europe

Date de publication
30 June 2011
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The EU is currently developing a Maritime Security Strategy. Space should be integrated in that effort, given its potential for maritime surveillance.

The EU internal market - a stake or a tool in European-Russian gas relations. The case of new member states gas policy

Date de publication
15 June 2011
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Since 2010 we have observed a new quality in EU energy policy. It is related to the European Commission’s more or less direct engagement in the bilateral gas relations of a part of the new member states - Poland, Bulgaria and Lithuania - with Russia.

Agata LOSKOT-STRACHOTA William C. RAMSAY

Protecting Nuclear Installations: The difference between industrial safety and national security

Date de publication
27 May 2011
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There is a gritty public debate going on in Europe about what threats should be considered in conducting stress tests on existing nuclear power plants or in establishing safety criteria for new build nuclear power. 

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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.

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EU flag waving in front of European Parliament building. Brussels, Belgium
symbiot/Shutterstock