Alberto Rizzi

The electric endgame: Europe’s clean path out of vassalage – European Council on Foreign Relations The geoeconomic power of the future will be shaped by climate policy. Countries that play the right moves in regulation, clean-tech production and climate finan

The geoeconomic power of the future will be shaped by climate policy. Countries that play the right moves in regulation, clean-tech production & climate finance today will win in the electrified world of tomorrow. @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social @ecfrgeotech.bsky.social
ecfr.eu/publication/...

Looking at the record of military interventions since 9/11, the Western ability to determine political outcomes on the ground in the Middle East via the use of force seems limited, to put it mildly.

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine are monitoring the U.S. operation in Iran from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump is currently located, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Jesus Christ they're running the war from Mar-a-Lago

www.reuters.com/world/us/top...

Trump tariffs: 'A deal is a deal,' EU insists The EU's executive insisted that "a deal is a deal" after US President Donald Trump said he was raising a global 10% tariff to 15% in response to the US Supreme Court blocking many of his emergency ta...

My @deutschewelle.dw.com interview on new tariffs: the EU is likely to put on hold the deal in face of the new 15% global US tariff and evaluate possible retaliations. Still, diversification towards new export markets remains the core European strategy.
www.dw.com/en/trump-tar...

Europe shouldn't celebrate the US Supreme Court ruling on tariffs as a final victory. Trump's fiery (and largely incoherent) press conference has shown clearly that danger is not over and that he still sees the EU as the enemy.

Meloni is already distancing herself from Merz: she doesn't share his criticism of MAGA. Reality is that for her transatlantic ties are worth safeguarding because of ideological closeness, for Merz they are notwithstanding ideological differences. Hardly a sound basis for strategic cooperation...

Pyongyang on the Potomac

It’s the (geo)economy, stupid: Why the EU-India deal matters beyond trade – European Council on Foreign Relations The EU and India have just concluded the biggest trade deal in their respective histories. Europeans will benefit from lower tariffs with the G20’s fastest-grow

The EU-India FTA deal is hot on the heels of Mercosur. Instead of decrying the end of a world order from which they benefitted, Europeans are finally embracing their trade strengths, writes @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social

👇Read the full commentary in our website.
https://bit.ly/4tayhi4

On 3), I would add that if you're a think tanker or academic you MUST have booshelves filled with books in the background when doing a media interview or a webinar.
More seriosuly: to me a home wihtout books feels like a home without a soul, empty of stories.

Brussels hold’em: European cards against Trumpian coercion – European Council on Foreign Relations Faced with an aggressive United States, Europe has more leverage than it realises. Across trade, technology, infrastructure, finance and people-to-people relati

EU decided to bring up Anti-Coercion Instrument, a 'trade bazooka', against Trump. What does the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument provide? With their cards in hands, the EU should create an economic deterrence infrastructure and strengthen its existing anti-coercion instrument.

https://bit.ly/4sWevqr

Mercosur : "En cas d’échec, beaucoup estimeront que l’UE n’est pas un partenaire fiable" Alberto Rizzi, chercheur au Conseil européen pour les relations internationales, analyse les enjeux de l'accord, avant le vote crucial lors du Conseil européen des 18 et 19 décembre.

Mercosur : "En cas d’échec, beaucoup estimeront que l’UE n’est pas un partenaire fiable"

@alberto-rizzi.bsky.social, chercheur au @ecfr.eu, analyse les enjeux de l'accord. 👇 1/7 🧵

A big, beautiful European strategy for Trumponomics | ECFR Since the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House in January, European policymakers have been struggling to sketch a sensible response to

What are Trump's plans in the trade (tariffs), investment (decoupling) and financial (US dollar depreciation) spheres, and what do US policies mean for Europe? Join us next Tuesday in Berlin @ecfrberlin.bsky.social to discuss these topics - more info and registration 👇

Shield the fields: How Europe can support Ukraine through a dark winter Volodymyr Zelensky has struck a deal to strengthen Ukraine’s winter energy reserves. Europe should now help Kyiv diversify its imports and guard its domestic gas fields with a robust air defence…

Volodymyr Zelensky has struck a deal to strengthen Ukraine’s winter energy reserves. Europe should now help Kyiv diversify its imports and guard its domestic gas fields with a robust air defence, writes @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4pbu1vQ

Trump’s AI thaw: How Europe and the Gulf can protect against American and Chinese tech pressure Recent changes in US policy have brought the US and Gulf states together again on AI—creating new openings for European decision-makers…

The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act could offer a useful framework for Europeans and Gulf partners to work together, write @cinziabianco.bsky.social and Herman Quarles @ecfrmena.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/3MdxkEk

Shield the fields: How Europe can support Ukraine through a dark winter Volodymyr Zelensky has struck a deal to strengthen Ukraine’s winter energy reserves. Europe should now help Kyiv diversify its imports and guard its domestic gas fields with a robust air defence…

Volodymyr Zelensky has struck a deal to strengthen Ukraine’s winter energy reserves. Europe should now help Kyiv diversify its imports and guard its domestic gas fields with a robust air defence, writes @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social @ecfrpower.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4pbu1vQ

Shield the fields: How Europe can support Ukraine through a dark winter | ECFR Volodymyr Zelensky has struck a deal to strengthen Ukraine’s winter energy reserves. Europe should now help Kyiv diversify its imports and guard its domestic ga

🇺🇦 Zelensky chiude un accordo chiave per rafforzare le riserve energetiche dell’Ucraina in vista dell’inverno. L’Europa deve aiutare Kyiv a proteggere i giacimenti di gas con una difesa aerea efficace.
✍️ @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social x @ecfreuropeansec.bsky.social

YouTube video by DW News Can Europe supply Ukraine with enough gas to get through the winter? | DW News

I spoke yesterday with @deutschewellerss.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy about Zelenskyy's visit to Greece: more gas supplies are crucial to compensate for Ukraine's lower production due to attacks by Russia. And defending Ukrainian infrastructure is equally important.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAnh...

I have a very bad feeling about this...

EU seeks US trade concessions by doubling steel tariffs – DW – 10/09/2025 A recent EU decision to punish imports of steel with new levies has sparked backlash from China and global concerns over rising protectionism. Is Brussels following Washington's lead — or defending it...

My take on incoming EU steel tariffs in this Deutsche Welle piece: the move aims at obtaining concessions form the US, most likely a tariff-free quota for European producers, but at the cost of worsening trade relations with other suppliers to the bloc

www.dw.com/en/eu-seeks-...

And people forget that despite all the anti-German sentiment the German car industry is a primary driver of (economic) integration, employment, and export growth for CEE MS. If it doesn't modernize with an eye to the marketplace of the 21stC it will be one giant multinational Nokia

There's a fascinating case study to be done on the different strategies of Macron and Sánchez. Both emerged, against the odds, from centrist milieux in the mid-2010s to lead their countries since 2017/18. But their fates are totally different.

Got my second-lever master's there, back in 2020

window epidemic in Russia continues apparently

I wrote my bachelor thesis on the enhanced cooperation clause as a desireable tool to go forward without waiting for Godot (aka reform of treaties) and nothing has developed on that front in the ten years that have passed. Totally share your skepticism.

Brazil’s former leader Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison on coup charges Far-right populist found guilty of leading conspiracy that attempted to overthrow country’s democracy

In Brazil, if you plot a coup to subvert the result of democratic elections, you end up in jail.
In the US, if you actually execute one, you end up in the White House.
www.ft.com/content/f07c...

Looks like North Korea with stars and stripes

Art of the deal: Four ways Europeans can find new trade partners in the Trump era Trump’s trade policy is likely to harm European trade with America. Decision-makers can start to mitigate this now.

Yes, I argued for speeding up trade negotiations just after Trump won - and maintain this view. The issue is that many governments see new deals as politically dangerous (MERCOSUR anyone?) and the tensions between capitals and Commission make the EU a less credible partner.
ecfr.eu/article/art-...

Except this course is hardly the minimal harm: it imposes significant long-term costs on the EU (tariffs are very sticky, they likely remain for decades and can easily be increased by US in the future) while escalation would have only brough some short term pain but a better final deal.

Scot-free: What Europeans should take from Trump’s trade deal Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump have announced a 15% tariff on most EU goods exported to the US. The compromise has avoided a trade war for now—but Europeans need to safeguard the deal’s…

My take on the US-EU trade deal in this @ecfr.eu policy alert:
- EU preferred an unequal deal rather than retaliating to maybe get a better one
- Some economic silver linings don't cancel the political capitulation
- EU needs credible retribution to prevent further US demands
ecfr.eu/article/scot...