Europe
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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UK/EU Relations after Brexit: Why Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Despite the posturing, both the United Kingdom and the European Union are trying to reach a deal. However, London’s cliffedge strategy and Brussels’ control of the agenda and progress of the negotiations could result in an “any deal is better than no deal”.
Brexit: The Trouble of Breaking Up
On the brink of Brexit, what form will it take? British and European negotiators might prefer a bad deal to no deal, but would this avoid the significant disruption in trade with the European Union that no new trade deal could make up for?
Towards a More Principled European China Policy?
Promoting political values (democracy, human rights and the rule of law) in China is a colossal undertaking, but the EU could be more effective than we think. To do so, it must act strategically, in unity, and in concert with like-minded partners. It must also strengthen its record of upholding political values and reform its procedures for foreign policy decision-making.
COVID-19 Reveals Europe’s Strategic Loneliness
The COVID-19 crisis has not only revealed a world that has moved into an age of interdependence and competition, it has also laid bare Europe’s strategic loneliness and vulnerability.
French public opinion on China in the age of COVID-19: Political distrust trumps economic opportunities
This report is a result of a wide-scale study of public opinion on China in 13 European countries,1 conducted in September and October 2020, on the research sample representative with respect to gender, age, level of education, country region, and settlement density. Here, we focus on the French portion of the polling, building on the previously published report comparing the results across the 13 countries.
The Franco-German Armaments Cooperation. An Impossible Agreement?
In the Aachen Treaty in 2019, Germany and France agree to deepen their "common program in defense matters" and to pursue a common vision in terms of arms export. These are the preconditions that will help consolidate a culture of common armed forces, common interventions, and European defense industry.
The American Elections and Beyond
The next few years will be tumultuous ones in the United States. The dependency of foreign policy on domestic policy is unlikely to diminish. Whether in the rivalry with China or the predominance of Israeli interests in Middle East policy, for example, it is hard to imagine Biden taking a big step backward. Many Europeans want to believe that a victory by Obama’s former vice president will signal a return to the good old days of transatlantic consultation and multilateralism.
Towards Tougher Bilateral Relations Between EU and China
When politics catches up to the economy. In the wake of the EU-China summit, what can we expect from the bilateral relations? 2020 was supposed to be the year of EU-China relations. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has quickly disrupted the positive expectations.
Europe beyond COVID-19
The recovery plan agreed upon by European Union leaders in July 2020 is unprecedented: for the first time, it creates a common debt that will help revive the economies impacted by the pandemic.
RAMSES 2021. At the Edge?
RAMSES 2021. At the Edge?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.
Croatia: An Expanding Learning Curve
The expectations of Croat citizens are modest since the country entered the EU in the midst of the financial crisis and the popular feeling is one of cautious optimism. The membership serves as a catalyst for the creation of national identity as one rooted in the West. It should also boost growth in the country, which Croatia is only starting to see having entered the EU in the midst of the crisis.
Slovakia: Country of Many Paradoxes
Slovakia might be perceived as a “latecomer” in preparing for EU accession only in the 1990s, but it caught up rapidly. Among its chief objectives was for Slovakians to achieve higher living standards and gain an external system of checks and balances, which would improve the country’s democratic processes and public administration.
Poland: All Shades of EU Enthusiasm
Joining the EU and NATO was perceived as a way to escape communism and Russia’s sphere of influence by quickly enhancing its national security and economic development. This view largely remains valid today, especially as the “economic catch up” it sought has been relatively fruitful.
Rushing to a deal on the UK could be ill-thought-out for the EU
The Challenges of Maintaining Nuclear Cultures : US and UK perspectives
After the world entered the nuclear age, civilian and military organizations have witnessed the slow emergence of nuclear cultures, defined as the set of values and knowledge, shared among the national security community, about the relative importance of nuclear weapons in the country’s defense posture, the distinctive features of nuclear weapons in terms of security, safety and operational requirements, and the workings of deterrence.
Visions of EU Reform - Written evidence to the House of Lords
Vivien Pertusot provided written evidence to the inquiry of the EU Select Committee of the UK's House of Lords on "Visions of EU Reform". This inquiry is organised in the context of the UK Government's renegotiation and future referendum on the EU.
China vs. USA: After South China Sea, the Arctic as a Second Act
The focus on the power confrontation between China and the U.S. has for a while been directed towards the South China Sea, but a focus should be given to the Arctic region, where the second act is already ongoing.
Mapping Europe-China Relations: A Bottom-Up Approach. A Report of the European Think-tank Network on China ETNC, October 2015
As China’s rise continues to shape and shake the course of international affairs, and Europe enters a new chapter in its collective history, Europe-China relations are becoming more relevant, but also much more complex.
EU Reform: Mapping out a state of flux
“EU Reform” is widely discussed across Europe but rarely defined. This report analyses how the 28 member states of the European Union understand “EU reform” and provides an insight into how their views might play out in debates on the future of the EU as well as on day-to-day politics.
European Defence: Minilateralism is not the enemy
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Related centers and programs
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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.
Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (ÖFZ)
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.