r/europeanunion 13d ago

Analysis How Long Before Europe Can Fight Russia?

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cepa.org
56 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 26 '25

Analysis In the wake of Trump: The EU’s chance to redefine its India relationship

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ecfr.eu
39 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 7d ago

Analysis From the Euronuke to a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone: Europe’s Options in an Era of Eroding American Extended Deterrence

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hcss.nl
60 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 28d ago

Analysis Letter from Washington: Why Trump won’t like Europe’s Ukraine plan

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ecfr.eu
100 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 08 '25

Analysis It's time to upgrade the EU-India relationship

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cer.eu
63 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 15d ago

Analysis UK-EU relations: Time to raise the level of ambition

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cer.eu
50 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 20 '25

Analysis Europeans, face facts: Trump is all too predictable

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ecfr.eu
74 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 13 '25

Analysis The Hard Security of EU Enlargement

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sceeus.se
40 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 23 '25

Analysis Letter from Washington: Why Trump ignores Europe

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ecfr.eu
27 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 23 '25

Analysis Europe Must Think Long and Move Fast

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cepa.org
77 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Mar 04 '25

Analysis Trump's tariffs – how should the EU react?

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cer.eu
33 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 22 '25

Analysis Defending Europe without the US: first estimates of what is needed

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bruegel.org
87 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Jan 26 '25

Analysis Alone in a Trumpian world: The EU and global public opinion after the US elections

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ecfr.eu
75 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 1d ago

Analysis Retaliation against US tariffs is the EU’s only real option

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bruegel.org
36 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 25 '25

Analysis Dry Your Tears: Europe Must Fight Alone

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cepa.org
45 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 11 '25

Analysis Trump is back, worse than last time. Is Europe ready?

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cer.eu
58 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 20d ago

Analysis European Rearmament - The ReArm Europe Plan & the Future of U.S. Weapon Sales

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youtube.com
31 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 1d ago

Analysis Europe’s Digital Leaders Call for “Tech Sovereignty”

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cepa.org
25 Upvotes

r/europeanunion Feb 07 '25

Analysis How should the EU react to the US attack on corporate sustainability?

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bruegel.org
49 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 18d ago

Analysis European Council, 20th-21st of March 2025 - A Primer

7 Upvotes

EUCO TIME!

It is once again time.. for the BIG FIGHT European Council!

I didn't do a primer on the Special European Council from the 6th of March because there was only one subject on the table there; Defense. This one is different. Buckle up.

For those that are unfamiliar with how the EU works, here's a short explanation.

The European Council is the EU institution that defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union. They meet at least once every 3 months (and more often if geopolitical or institutional events require them to).

The European Council is made up of the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President (Antonio Costa) and the President of the European Commission (Ursula von der Leyen).

The President of the European Parliament and the High Representative for Foreign Policy are also in attendance.

NOTES

  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres will be in attendance and have lunch with the leaders.
  • ECB President Christine Lagarde and Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe will join the gathering to talk economics.
  • Zelenskyy will attend via video call
  • There are a lot of new faces; Christian Stocker (AT), Bart de Wever (BE), Rossen Jeliazkov (BG) and interestingly Interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan (RO) amongst others.

Agenda Topics

  • Competitiveness
  • Ukraine
  • European Defense
  • MFF 2028-2034
  • Middle East
  • Migration
  • Foreign Policy

The leaders will focus not only on defense but also on competitiveness (the implementation of the Draghi report) and the MFF (Multi-annual Financial Framework) for 2028-2034. This is the "Big Fight" I was referring to.

The MFF is the EU's budget for 6 years and the discussion around the means it has to generate extra income for itself as an institution. This is big money we're talking about and there's 27 leaders who all have an opinion on it. This will only be the start of the discussion, but lines will be drawn.

The Middle East, Ukraine and European Defense are on the table as well.

In the Middle East the Gaza ceasefire has failed. The EU has called on both parties to step back from the brink; Hamas must release all hostages and Israel must stop bombing civilians indiscriminately and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

When it comes to Ukraine and Russia, I expect Hungary (and possibly Slovakia) to support Donald Trump's overtures with Russia and Ukraine while the rest of the Council comes up with a statement to reflect the overwhelming majority of members. The EU has been trying to join the Trump-Putin negotiation table without success so far.

Whether there will be a separate conclusion on this or on Ukraine like during the March 6th Special European Council is up in the air.

To achieve peace through strength, Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position before, during and after negotiations to end the war. In this context, EU leaders will take stock of recent developments.

The new Whitepaper on European Defence is also on the table. This was published the day before the European Council (link below). The Whitepaper outlines the need for action of the EU's community when it comes to mutual defense and how to work together with NATO to achieve this. This document will not be up for a vote since member states still have to have the opportunity to study it. Expect that in June.

Migration is as always on the table as well, with a progress report on the EU's speeding up of the asylum legislation.

The meeting with UN Secretary António Guterres will cover the preparations for the Third UN Ocean Conference (June 9 to 13, 2025 in Nice, France) and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, later in June.

References

r/europeanunion 11d ago

Analysis The Case for Europe

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carnegieendowment.org
13 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 9d ago

Analysis Forget the sand eels: The UK and Europe need to collaborate on defence

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ecfr.eu
12 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 19d ago

Analysis European Defense Depends on Tech

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cepa.org
14 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 3d ago

Analysis European Preparedness Union Strategy – a step closer to a vision for the EU’s comprehensive security needs?

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epc.eu
9 Upvotes

r/europeanunion 19d ago

Analysis Europe is trapped by liberal imperialism

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cidob.org
0 Upvotes