Brussels Institute for Geopolitics

🚨 On 15 October, BIG will be in conversation with Salomé Zourabichvili, the fifth President of Georgia - and you're invited. Register now to ensure your place in this exclusive dialogue with the woman at the heart of the battle for her country’s European ambitions. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/Td7bY

As Copenhagen's summit week concludes, disruptive #drone incursions set the tone and brought Moscow's hybrid war to #EUCO. We asked @rynning.bsky.social about the significance of the operation, how the continent should respond, and the view from #Denmark.

🔗 shorturl.at/S6koq

@d-ias.bsky.social

⛽ Once hailed as 'molecules of freedom', US oil and gas now expose the EU to the whims of the White House.

As #EUCO meets today with a ban on Russian LNG on their agenda, @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social argues that #energy independence lies not in a new supplier, but a new path.

🔗 shorturl.at/Ww3D5

Continental diplomacy for a new era - The European Political Community from Prague to Copenhagen

📖 Our latest report by @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social and Antoine Michon unpacks the EPC's staying power, how it could develop, and what its emergence means for the other actors on the stage - particularly the EU.

🔗 Read the full report: big-europe.eu/publications...

❓ Is the European Political Community quietly becoming a new pillar of Europe's geopolitical governance?

That's the BIG idea we discussed yesterday with Her Excellency Daniela Morari, Ambassador of #Moldova to the EU, and a host of other esteemed guests, ahead of the 7th #EPC summit on 2 October.

🚨🎧 Your weekend listen is here.

🎙️ In this episode of Handing Over the Mic, we hear from Vera Songwe – economist and leader in development, finance and policy – on Africa’s evolving relationship with Europe and the world economy.

Listen here ⤵️
Spotify: shorturl.at/hcrVI
Apple: shorturl.at/ok7FQ

Time for the gloves to come off in digital policy

📱 ‘In the #digital arena, the #EU is still playing a rules-based version of nobody-gets-hurt judo, whereas the other major players have shifted to something more like mixed martial arts.’

In this BIG essay, @dmugge.bsky.social defends European self-determination in an age of digital imperialism. ⤵️

We extend our warmest congratulations to BIG's Advisory Council member Kajsa Ollongren as she takes up this exciting new role with Europe's values firmly at its heart. 👏

Europe cools towards the US (but not everywhere all of the time): The ‘Trump Effect’

🌍 Mapping Geopolitics: The ‘Trump Effect’

Since Trump’s return, EU trust in the US has plunged, from 47% to 29% in just 6 months.

🇩🇰 Denmark saw the biggest drop, while 🇷🇴 Romania & 🇧🇬 Bulgaria stayed positive.

big-europe.eu/publications...

🇨🇳 In 1989, Wang Dan led student protests in Tiananmen Square. “We had no blueprint, only hope.”

As part of BIG's #Project1989, he reflects on that moment, civil society and the struggle for democracy in China and beyond.

🔗 Read the full interview here:
shorturl.at/McBcl

🌍 As the EU-China summit unfolds in Beijing as we speak, BIG retraces the ancient Silk Road from Rome.

Once a main artery of trade culture, we explore if it is still possible to walk these paths with modern geopolitical roadblocks

🔗 the full map: shorturl.at/O0tJK

#china #summit #eu #geopolitics

💬 ‘Hunched forward, with mirrored posture, Trump and Zelensky huddle deep in conversation'

📷 In BIG's first photo essay, we how a seemingly impromptu photograph taken before Pope Francis’s funeral service currently stands as the most significant geopolitical image of 2025.

Read: shorturl.at/7J6YV

The EU–China Summit: Past and Present

🇪🇺🇨🇳 On the eve of the EU–China summit, Ties Dams asks: Can Europe earn great power recognition? or is it still caught between U.S. decline and China's rise? 50 years after the genesis of EU-China relations, the stakes are just as high

🔗 big-europe.eu/publications...

#EU #China #Geopolitics #Summit

China, civilization and political discourse

‘On the European continent, ‘civilization’ is almost considered a dirty word...'

🇪🇺🇨🇳With the EU-China summit fast approaching in the next few days, can historical identity become a form of soft power in today’s geopolitical order?

Read more here:
big-europe.eu/publications...

Green Realpolitik: Recasting Europe’s Climate and Energy Diplomacy

Delighted to present BIG’s ‘Green Realpolitik: Recasting Europe’s Climate and Energy Diplomacy’ by @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social

A clear-sighted look at what’s at stake as Europe attempts to carry forward its climate and energy agenda into a new geopolitical era.
big-europe.eu/publications...

Russia disregards Europe at its peril

Russia disregards Europe at its peril, warns BIG's Claude-France Arnould.

As the NATO summit ends in The Hague, she explores centuries of conflict and why Moscow tends to underestimate Europe ⬇️
big-europe.eu/publications...

Revisiting Europe’s Intellectual Foundations for the Geopolitical Age

Joshua Livestro traces Europe’s federal tradition from Machiavelli to Monnet—arguing it’s rooted not in ideals but geostrategic necessity: unity for power, not just peace. A resilient way to frame the EU narrative as we head into the #NATOsummit with big challenges ahead.

shorturl.at/F83GR

The Race for Europe’s Digital Future

📝 Writing for BIG, author Ophélie Coelho outlines the need for Europe to carve a path to digital independence, away from the United States and China.

Does Europe have the infrastructure to accomplish total digital sovereignty?

Read more here: shorturl.at/9zCu8

🔊 Is Europe still the centre of culture?

New Handing Over the Mic ep features Louma Salamé, director of the Boghossian Foundation, in conversation with Christine Mhundwa & Elisa Díaz Gras.

From Louvre Abu Dhabi to Doha’s Mathaf, we explore how artistic dialogue can foster a diplomatic impact

Mapping Geopolitics

South Africa’s ICJ case has triggered political and legal rifts. A new research map on our website shows how countries are aligning

big-europe.eu/publications/2025-06-13-the-un-convention-on-genocide-and-the-gaza-war-legal-responsibility-in-a-fractured-international-order

Hubert Védrine: ‘1989 wasn't the real beginning. The true departure point was much earlier’

‘1989 wasn't the real beginning’

Hubert Védrine is a French diplomat and was the diplomatic advisor for President François Mitterrand in 1989.

We spoke to him about the shifts that occurred in Europe before the fall of the Berlin wall.

Read more below:
big-europe.eu/publications...

Joachim Bitterlich: ‘We had no clear roadmap for reunification’

"We had no clear roadmap for reunification.”

In the weeks leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Joachim Bitterlich served as West Germany’s foreign & security policy advisor to Chancellor Kohl.

Read our full interview with him as part of Project 1989 below:
big-europe.eu/publications...

Trump, Europe and the new culture wars

As the #G7 wraps up and with NATO next week, BIG’s
@luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social examines the roots of the ‘new culture war’ between Trump’s America and Europe — and what recent elections in Poland, Romania & Germany reveal about his ideological reach.

big-europe.eu/publications...

The Brussels Institute for Geopolitics proudly announces Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl as its new Vice-Chair of the Board.

Ms. Bonefeld-Dahl brings a wealth of experience to the role, currently acting as Director-General at DIGITALEUROPE.

@luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social
@digitaleurope.bsky.social

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics – Europe must move beyond

Thank you Clément Beaune, French High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning, for joining us at BIG alongside other distinguished guests.

It was an excellent opportunity to discuss Europe’s readiness for today’s security challenges.

big-europe.eu/2025-06-03-e...

📢 Our latest newsletter is on its way soon!

🌍 Explore the evolving landscape of geopolitics, with deep dives into the historical and cultural transformations shaping Europe today.

Subscribe now to stay informed with the BIG newsletter: big-europe.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

A pleasure to host the Board of the Dutch Ministry of Finance this week, to discuss what today's security and defence challenges mean for the role of the euro and Europe’s prosperity.

A chance to reflect on present and future within our historic Hôtel Van Eetvelde premises.

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics – BIG is hiring a Head of

🚨 We're hiring a Head of Comms at BIG

If you're a journalist or comms expert steeped in EU politics, history, and strategy, come shape the stories Europe tells in a shifting world

Join us in Brussels to help define Europe's geopolitical voice

🗓️ Apply by 8 June 2025
🔗 big-europe.eu/big-is-hirin...

'We need not just the unpowerment of our rivals, but the empowerment of ourselves.'

BIG’s Hans Kribbe spoke at today’s @euiss.bsky.social @poland25eu.bsky.social seminar on how the EU can limit Russia’s influence — urging a clearer, stronger European offer in a geopolitical world.

BIG Director @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social joined #Impact25 in Poznań this week, speaking on transatlantic ties with distinguished guests.

Also in dialogue w/ Rem Koolhaas & @politico.eu's Anne McElvoy on Europe’s place in the world.

Tks @impactcee.bsky.social for this brilliant event.