Great to be launching @ecfr.eu new European Security Programme at ECFR’s annual council meeting, this time in Warsaw, with @nicupopescu.bsky.social and @dmytrokuleba.bsky.social @camillegrand.bsky.social #ACM2025

@nicupopescu.bsky.social, distinguished policy fellow, "We definitely need much faster ways to respond to crisis and this is where, as part of this program- and we have an amazing team of colleagues- we will continue digging into making sure we learn the Right lessons from the war in Ukraine" #ACM25

🔴New Op-Ed from ECFR's @nicupopescu.bsky.social, Distinguished Fellow, and Tiago Antunes, Associate Senior Fellow, on the need for Europe to beef-up its crisis response systems and infrastructure following April's Iberian blackout @ecfrpower.bsky.social
🔗https://bit.ly/4lbz65d

Self-promotion alert: we argue with @camillegrand.bsky.social & @nicupopescu.bsky.social that w/ less US attention & resources, the Europeans are Kyiv's key partner. They need a shared plan to promote joint security, map out Kyiv’s future EU integration & stabilise the country domestically.

The long game: How Europeans can shape the outcome of Ukraine-Russia talks The second meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul has shown that a settlement is a distant prospect. To strengthen Ukraine’s hand in future talks, Europeans have a three-fold task.

'With a united European front investing in its capacity to help Ukraine protect European security, Europeans could strengthen Ukraine’s hand well enough to reach some kind of pacification of the conflict', write @jkobzova.bsky.social and @nicupopescu.bsky.social in a new commentary
buff.ly/20iqCfv

Strength in members: How to rally EU enlargement for defence The EU’s accession process ignores defence while NATO cannot cover all the candidates. Tailored defence cooperation roadmaps offer a promising path to protect Europe’s periphery without NATO…

Recommended reading: "Strength in members: How to rally EU enlargement for defence" - by @gresselgustav.bsky.social and @nicupopescu.bsky.social at @ecfr.eu
ecfr.eu/publication/...

Why Russia’s actions pose a threat well beyond its neighbours Europeans might be focused on deterring Russia’s military might—but they also need to consider the danger of its political gamble

NEW commentary 📝
Europeans might be focused on deterring Russia’s military might—but they also need to consider the danger of its political gamble, writes @nicupopescu.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social

Read how russia could unravel the institutional fabric of the EU.

The four pillars of European defence For too long, Europeans have neglected their defence infrastructure. With the threat of Russia looming, policymakers should consider four ways to present a strong, unified front

Anche dopo l'invasione totale dell'Ucraina da parte della Russia nel febbraio 2022, la maggior parte dei paesi europei non ha trattato l'aggressione come qualcosa che trascende l'Ucraina e minaccia l'Europa stessa, scrive
@nicupopescu.bsky.social 👇

ecfr.eu/article/the-...

Ceasefire or crossroads: Ukraine, the US and Russia’s next move Mark Leonard welcomes Marie Dumoulin to discuss the recent Ukraine-US agreement on a 30-day ceasefire and its implications for the conflict with Russia…

🎧 New podcast!
This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Marie Dumoulin, head of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, to explore the implications behind a newly announced Ukraine-US agreement amid the Russia conflict.
✍️ Listen, share and subscribe!

Glaciers and geopolitics: Why Iceland matters for European security Iceland may be small, but its strategic importance is vast. As Trump questions NATO commitments, European allies must step up before the Arctic becomes the next geopolitical flashpoint

Iceland may be small, but its strategic importance is vast. As Trump questions NATO commitments, European allies must step up before the Arctic becomes the next geopolitical flashpoint, writes Katrine Westgaard.

Read here:

Live Oak reloaded: How Europe can operationalise a military presence in Ukraine Washington is winding down its European security contributions and backing away from Ukraine. Europeans could learn from history as they wrestle with deploying a military presence to deter future…

Military deployments by European countries to Ukraine are no doubt risky. But in order to have any chance at preventing war with Russia, Europeans must unambiguously demonstrate that they are willing to risk one, writes @rafaelloss.bsky.social

Read here:

The four pillars of European defence For too long, Europeans have neglected their defence infrastructure. With the threat of Russia looming, policymakers should consider four ways to present a strong, unified front

For all the talk of increasing defence spending after 2022: in 1999 NATO Europe spent a higher share of GDP for defence than in 2024 (2.1% vs 2.02%). There is a clear need to accelerate the investment in Europe’s peace ecfr.eu/article/the-...

« La meilleure façon de prévenir une nouvelle guerre en Europe est de convaincre la Russie que toute agression serait coûteuse et vouée à l’échec » TRIBUNE. Une Union européenne incapable de défendre ses Etats membres contre une agression militaire verrait très rapidement s’éroder ses autres réalisations, affirme, dans une tribune au « Monde », l...

My oped in @lemonde.fr - how to talk to European publics about Ukraine: talk less about helping Ukraine, and why defending Europe by helping to Ukraine is in the interest of every european from Iceland to Cyprus and Estonia to Portugal.
www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

Trump’s return: What’s next for the war in Ukraine Mark Leonard welcomes Marie Dumoulin and Jeremy Shapiro to discuss how Trump’s re-election could affect the war in Ukraine and international efforts for peace…

🎧 Mark Leonard and some of the heads and deputy heads of our national offices— @camillelons.bsky.social , @mprochwicz.bsky.social , @jpuglierin.bsky.social , José Ignacio Torreblanca, and @arturovarvelli.bsky.social —gather to discuss how Europe is preparing for Trump’s return. 👇

Why Are European Troops For Ukraine A Nonstarter? Donald Trump's inauguration is focusing minds on a future peace plan for Ukraine, with much talk of European armies providing a military mission. French President Emmanuel Macron has been a particular...

The problem with traditional peacekeeping missions is that they are bound by UN decisions, meaning Russia could veto it or terminate the mission at any time. Such a mission would also not be limited to Western countries but also have troops from other parts of the world www.rferl.org/a/european-t...

“What’s being discussed is a military presence to prevent another war. It means troops, not lightly armed peacekeepers, but equipped with antiaircraft, anti-electronic warfare capacities, to defend cities like Odesa and Kyiv.” www.rferl.org/a/european-t...

Europe Needs a Defense Production Act | by Nicu Popescu - Project Syndicate Nicu Popescu urges EU member states to bolster their defense capabilities to guard against future Russian aggression.

My oped: important lesson of the past few years is that Europeans need to respond much faster to security crises. To overcome chronic sluggishness, the EU must establish processes for fast-tracking critical military and infrastructure spending. prosyn.org/QFHerGD @ProSyn

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, walking down in the Government

Hello everyone! Follow me on Bluesky to learn more about how we build the European Moldova!

EU needs legal and administrative fast-lanes for wars and crises.🇪🇺has been committed, but too slow in dealing with crises. Speed matters. EU needs to be faster, adopt a EU defence production act - we argue with @LaurenceBoone in a new @ecfr report t.co/Rf0tSjpEIu