The EU’s international challenges [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski.

The European Union faces a number of geopolitical challenges, which are often interwoven. Russia’s war on Ukraine is affecting the EU’s relations with China, and encouraging the EU to be more open to the Global South, not least to try to persuade these countries not to back Russia in the military conflict. The war reinforces the need to maintain strong security relations with the United States at a time of increasing technological, economic and military rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

The EU has a major stake in shaping the international regulatory order, notably in digital and climate change policies. The Union’s goal to be the global leader in the fight against climate change requires extra efforts to counter green technology subsidies in the US and China.

This note gathers links to the recent publications and commentaries from many international think tanks on the EU’s global challenges. Earlier analyses on climate changes can be found in a previous edition of the ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking’ series. Papers on de-globalisation are gathered in another item in the series.

China and India: The future of the global consumer market
Brookings Institution, April 2023

Addressing the looming sovereign debt crisis in the developing world: It is time to consider a ‘Brady’ plan
Brookings Institution, April 2023

How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine tested the international legal order
Brookings Institution, April 2023

Can Europe forge a common China policy?
Carnegie Europe, April 2023

How can Europe help the next phase of the Summit for Democracy?
Carnegie Europe, April 2023

The EU-Africa partnership and development aid: Assessing the EU’s actorness and effectiveness in development policy
Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2023

Rising to the challenge: EU actorness in climate policy and its global impact
Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2023

Franco-German cooperation will be crucial for the future of European security
Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2023

How to fight back against China’s global media and information offensive
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2023

Here are four things the West gets wrong about Africa
Egmont, April 2023

The CRM Act in a global perspective
Egmont, April 2023

Strengthening the global role of the euro
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, April 2023

It’s time to get a grip on Africa-EU relations: A test for two continents
Friends of Europe, April 2023

Xi’s visit to Moscow exposed Russia’s weakness
International Institute for Strategic Studies, April 2023

Russia’s mining strategy: Geopolitical ambitions and industrial challenges
Institut français des relations internationales, April 2023

China/United States: Europe off balance
Institut français des relations internationales, April 2023

De la Russie à la Chine, Emmanuel Macron et l’illusion de la «puissance d’équilibre»
Institut Thomas More, April 2023

Global monetary order at the critical juncture: The impact of digitalisation and geoeconomic fragmentation
Istituto Affari Internazionali, April 2023

Taïwan et l’autonomie stratégique européenne
Institut Jacques Delors, April 2023

Internet governance and the UN in a multiplex world order era?
Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, April 2023

Key transatlantic implications of the Inflation Reduction Act
Real Instituto Elcano, April 2023

A threat to global food security
Wilson Center, April 2023

Is the global economy deglobalizing? And if so, why? And what is next?
Brookings Institution, March 2023

Much of the Global South is on Ukraine’s side
Bruegel, March 2023

Economic efficiency versus geopolitical resilience: Strategic autonomy’s difficult balancing act
Bruegel, March 2023

Putin and Xi are making the war in Ukraine a global contest
Carnegie Europe, March 2023

Learning to do no harm to democracy in engagement with authoritarian states
Carnegie Europe, March 2023

US-China rivalry in the Global South? Insights from a public opinion survey
Central European Institute of Asian Studies, March 2023

A digital connectivity masterplan for the Global Gateway
Centre for European Policy Studies, March 2023

Different futures for a digitalised global financial system
Clingendael, March 2023

How to read Xi’s muscular message on China’s global role
Council on Foreign Relations, March 2023

Opening the Global Gateway: Why the EU should invest more in the southern neighbourhood
European Council on Foreign Relations, March 2023

China’s global security initiative
European Union Institute for Strategic Studies, March 2023

European defence partnerships
European Union Institute for Strategic Studies, March 2023

États-unis: Chine, la tension monte
Fondation Jean Jaurès, March 2023

What is the future for global cooperation on democracy?
Forum 2000, March 2023

Europe’s delicate balancing act
German Marshall Fund, March 2023

Is realism policy relevant? Evidence from Ukraine and Taiwan
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, March 2023

Xi the peacemaker? China’s rise on the global stage
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, March 2023

Europe and Russia on the Balkan front: Geopolitics and diplomacy in the EU’s backyard
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, March 2023

The Global South and the Ukraine war at the UN
International Crisis Group, March 2023

What does Russia’s war on Ukraine mean for the international order?
Rand Corporation, March 2023

The EU and the negotiations for a binding treaty on business and human rights
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, March 2023

Climate versus trade? Reconciling international subsidy rules with industrial decarbonisation
Bruegel, February 2023

After Russia’s war against Ukraine: What kind of world order?
Carnegie Europe, February 2023

Getting global development back on track: Focus and start at home
Clingendael, February 2023

United West, divided from the rest: Global public opinion one year into Russia’s war on Ukraine
European Council on Foreign Relations, February 2023

Progressive pathways to European strategic autonomy
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, February 2023

Multipolarity after Ukraine: Old wine in new bottles?
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, February 2023

Global defence spending: Strategic vs economic drivers
International Institute for Strategic Studies, February 2023

The US-China technology war and its effects on Europe
Real Instituto Elcano, February 2023

Read this briefing on ‘The EU’s international challenges‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.