- Think tank review
- 21. května 2025
Think Tank Review - May 2025
EU politics and institutions
Reports dive into the role of the European Council as an institution that routinely intervenes in the EU’s day-to-day law-making, issues mandates to other institutions and member states, and acts actively and assertively throughout all stages of the EU policy process. Papers advance that the EU is at a significant turning point in its trajectory and should therefore not abandon cohesion policy, as regions across the Union face both challenges and opportunities. Instead, cohesion policy should reinforce the EU’s role in challenging centralised decisions that fail to adequately consider their impact on the people and places concerned. Europe appears to be the solution, rather than a problem, as suggested by the March Eurobarometer figures: briefs comment on the historically high approval ratings for the EU, while the nationalist, Eurosceptic parties are steadily gaining ground in the European Parliament and in the member states. What appears to be a paradox can be explained by a shift in the discourse. Even right-wing populists no longer question the EU – a clear triumph for the European idea.
Centre for European Policy Studies
The European Council: truly the law-maker-in-chief?
Centre for European Policy Studies
A decade of EU audit reform – successes, setbacks and what should be done next
European Policy Centre
A test of times: permachange through enlargement and EU reform
Fondation Robert Schuman
Europe appears to be the solution, not the problem
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Die EU zur Lebensversicherung machen: deutsche Europapolitik in Zeiten des Umbruchs
European Policy Centre
Cohesion policy’s mid-term review: stress-testing regional development in a new EU era
Bertelsmann Stiftung
Cohesion policy in national envelopes: how to integrate partnership
Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich (Centre for Eastern Studies)
Cluster, open up! Ukraine's opportunities and risks on the road to the EU
Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques
Élection présidentielle annulée en Roumanie : la démocratie à l'épreuve des réseaux sociaux
Razumkov Centre / Hanns Seidel Stiftung
Ukraine's European integration: current state, challenges, prospects
EU policies
The EU's tech dilemma under Trump is discussed along with the question of how to set higher ambitions that Europe can actually achieve in the competitiveness area. Reports argue that climate change could trigger debt crises in many countries by lowering growth and increasing the frequency of natural disasters. They speculate on whether some countries could default and which countries are particularly at risk. The idea of a European digital services tax is examined as a potential source of significant revenue. Alternatives are also considered, including a digital permanent establishment tax, a destination-based cash-flow tax, and the extension of VAT to digital transactions. In exploring ways to strengthen the euro's autonomy, papers suggest that the EU could increase the global availability of euro-denominated bonds and bank deposits and advance the implementation of a digital euro. This would improve Europe's monetary and financial infrastructure sovereignty and strengthen the international role of the euro. Papers explain that the new emissions trading system, ETS2, is coupled with a Social Climate Fund in order to protect the most vulnerable people. Papers outline a roadmap to end all Russian gas, since the EU is edging closer to energy independence while juggling security, environmental and economic objectives. They call for a European common strategy on Russian gas, warning that a fragmented approach risks undermining both EU energy security and the green transition.
Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space)
European Policy Centre
Delivering on Draghi after Munich: a quantum perspective
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
The future of the EU's competitive position: the role of Central Eastern European countries
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
El clean industrial deal ¿voluntarista o transformador?
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute) / Tecnalia
Tecnologías cuánticas: cómo apostar y acertar desde España y la UE
Tænketanken EUROPA
Τhe EU’s tech dilemma under Τrump: how to set higher ambitions that Europe can actually achieve
LUISS School of European Political Economy
Taking the territorial dimension of industrial policy seriously
Economic and Financial Affairs
Bruegel
The quickly fading memory of why and when bank capital is important
Bruegel
Climate change could trigger debt crises, with adaptation providing only partial relief
Centre for European Policy Studies
Towards a European digital services tax: renewing the momentum for a fair contribution
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
The new EU fiscal framework: implications for public spending on the green and digital transition
Brussels Institute for Geopolitics
Terra nova
De la souveraineté économique européenne et des chemins pour y parvenir
Hertie School - Jacques Delors Centre
Don’t throw it under the Omnibus: the EU needs to make sustainability reporting more effective
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (German Institute for Economic Research)
Analyse der EZB-Kommunikation verbessert Prognose von Zinsentscheidungen
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Is the digital euro back on track?
Employment / Social Policy / Health and Consumer Affairs
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
Migration vs. automation as an answer to labour shortages: firm-level analysis for Austria
Notre Europe - Institut Jacques Delors
Faire de la santé une priorité européenne
LUISS School of European Political Economy
Environmental Issues
Bruegel
Making the best of the new EU Social Climate Fund
Bruegel
Defence and climate: seven points for a common agenda
Europe Jacques Delors
A defining year for the ocean: why we need EU leadership for the high seas
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Scaling industrial carbon dioxide removal: policy options for a short-term strategy
Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE
Climate pledges and greenwashing: information provision does not work
Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE
Mutual funds’ appetite for sustainability in European auto ABS
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
The security dividend of climate policy
Economic and Social Research Institute
Perceptions of climate change and policy among farmers and the public in Ireland
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (German Council on Foreign Relations)
Ein Signal für multilaterale Kooperation
Justice and Home Affairs
Ulkopoliittinen instituutti (Finnish Institute of International Affairs)
Notre Europe - Institut Jacques Delors
Une nouvelle stratégie de sécurité intérieure pour l’Union européenne
Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier (Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies)
The facilitation proposal: assessing the EU’s response to the smuggling of migrants
LUISS School of European Political Economy
Upholding integrity: the causes and trends of corruption risk in Europe
Transport / Telecommunications / Energy
Tænketanken EUROPA
The bidding zone review – to build a genuine energy union, Germany must lead by example
Tænketanken EUROPA
Wanted: the roadmap to ending all Russian gas
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
El reto de la soberanía tecnológica: hacia un ecosistema digital europeo propio
Centre for European Policy Studies
Bruegel
Europe urgently needs a common strategy on Russian gas
Bruegel
Who should be charged? Principles for fair allocation of electricity system costs
Център за изследване на демокрацията (Center for the Study of Democracy)
Ending the state central planning model in the electricity sector
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (German Council on Foreign Relations)
Quantum technologies: ranking Germany’s ambition and international reputation
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (German Council on Foreign Relations)
Energy policy between war and peace
Forum for research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (FREE Network)
Complementary but different: the politics of green industrial policy and carbon pricing
Institut français des relations internationales
Startups européennes et IA générative: dépasser la domination des Big Tech
Institut français des relations internationales
La dimension stratégique de la flexibilité des systèmes électriques
Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques
Pipeline politics: Algeria, Italy and the great game in north Africa
Europe Jacques Delors
Steering the shipping sector’s decarbonisation
Fondation Robert Schuman
The end of the energy price crisis must not mean the end of the energy transition
Bertelsmann Stiftung
EuroStack: Sicherstellung der digitalen Souveränität Europas
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (Centre for European Economic Research)
Centre for European Reform
Power losses: what's holding back European electricity trade?
Foreign and security policy / Defence
Donald Trump's return to office is seen as ushering in economic and geopolitical shifts. Papers argue that the EU should respond by bolstering its defence capabilities, diversifying trade partnerships and deepening economic integration to navigate the changing global landscape. Briefs also analyse the cybersecurity and defence dimensions of sixth-generation (6G) networks and explore ways to rally EU enlargement for defence by creating tailored roadmaps which would help candidate countries align with EU security standards and contribute to collective defence efforts. Other topics discussed are: the governance and funding of European rearmament; an initial assessment of the economic impact of the US's tariffs on Europe and what the dual challenge of China and the US means for the EU's economic security.
Epicenter - European Policy Information Center
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Make the West great again? Ukraine, Israel and the appropriation of the West by European populists
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Destined for division? US and EU responses to the challenge of Chinese overcapacity
Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych (Center for International Relations)
Indie-Unia Europejska: Coraz bliżej umowy handlowej
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
A turning point, or not? Principles for a new European order
European Council on Foreign Relations
Multi-pole-arity: how Poland can help Europen think big on China
The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Central and Eastern Europe in the global economic fragmentation
European Centre for Development Policy Management
The NDICI-Global Europe mid-term review exercise in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons for the future
European Centre for Development Policy Management
The Lobito corridor: between European geopolitics and African agency
Brussels Institute for Geopolitics
Bruegel
Make finance part of the EU-UK post-Brexit reset
Център за изследване на демокрацията (Center for the Study of Democracy)
Ilicit financial flows and strategic corruption
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
The EU’s and China’s grants and loans in the Western Balkans
European Think Tanks Group
Energy and climate finance in the context of the EU–North Africa partnership
Ulkopoliittinen instituutti (Finnish Institute of International Affairs)
The EU in an age of empires: a liberal geopolitical force in the making?
Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations
From Syria to the black sea: containing Russia, partnering with Turkey?
Observer Research Foundation
Europe under Trump 2.0: in search of an end to its slow agony
Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations
Europe’s strategic imperative: advancing sustainability for global stability
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)
6G: Cybersecurity and defence implications
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)
Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada
Sobre el Plan ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030: (I) la activación de la cláusula de escape nacional
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
La mejor opción para Europa es hacerse cargo de su propia seguridad y defensa
European Council on Foreign Relations
Strength in members: how to rally EU enlargement for defence
RAND Europe
Conceptualising digital capability: enabling NATO digital capabilities
Centre for European Policy Studies
Bruegel
The governance and funding of European rearmament
Rahvusvaheline Kaitseuuringute Keskus (International Centre for Defence and Security)
Russia’s hybrid attacks in Europe: from deterrence to attribution to response
Carnegie Europe
A turning point, or not? Principles for a new European order
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
The EU as a key player in multilateral forums on space security: perspectives for the OEWG 2025–28
Institut français des relations internationales
Sous le feu des normes: comment encadrer sans désarmer la défense européene ?
Institut français des relations internationales
Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Center for European Policy Analysis
Defend in the cloud: boost NATO data resilience
Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Ευρωπαϊκής και Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy)
A deep dive in the white paper on the future of European defence
European Institute for Asian Studies
EU-South Korea-Japan: revitalizing defence and security ties in a changing geopolitical landscape
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Doing resilience better, with less: the cornerstone of the EU’s Eastern policy needs rethinking
Centrum Analiz Społeczno-Ekonomicznych (Center for Social and Economic Research)
Eastern European economies amidst global and regional shocks
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
Trade wars and currency wars – lessons from history
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Alignment or misalignment? US and EU high-tech trade and sanctions policies toward China
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
The consequences of the Trump trade war for Europe
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
El shock arancelario global de Trump
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
La ira arancelaria de Trump y sus dimensiones imprevistas en los mercados financieros globales
Centre for European Policy Studies
EU economic security: confronting the dual challenge of China and the US
Bruegel
Ending European Union imports of Russian uranium
Bruegel
The economic impact of Trump’s tariffs on Europe: an initial assessment
European Policy Centre
E3G
Global affairs
Papers try to analyse the Arctic great game, by examining what attracts global attention to the region, identifying the key players, and discussing how will this 'great game' will likely evolve and what the consequences will be for the world. Briefs look at Russia's strategic and military thinking, at how China-India relations will shape Asia and the global order and also comment on the broken hegemony, referring to USA-China rivalry in the new era of power politics. Regarding the recent incidents between India and Pakistan, reports describe the Indus water treaty as 'in abeyance', indicating a strategic pause, not a legal breach.
Institute for National Security Studies
Strategic alternatives for the Gaza strip
Institute for National Security Studies
Tensions around Taiwan: summary of 2024
Observer Research Foundation
India-Pakistan tensions after Pahalgam: a Kautilyan perspective
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)/ Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS)
How close is peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)/ Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS)
The political fallout from Armenia’s refugee response
Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich (Centre for Eastern Studies)
No prospect for stability: internal and regional drivers of the situation in Syria
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
Sovereign vs. corporate debt and default: more similar than you yhink
Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen - Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations)
Dealing with authoritarian security providers: risks and possibilities
Türkiye Ekonomi Politikaları Araştırma Vakfı (Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey)
The impending global tariff war: can crisis be turned into opportunity for India?
Türkiye Ekonomi Politikaları Araştırma Vakfı (Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey)
Trump’s second term: a stress test for American democracy and global leadership
Observer Research Foundation
The Arctic great game: the need for cautious optimism
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Clearing the path for nuclear disarmament: confidence-building in the Korean peninsula
Observer Research Foundation
Indus treaty in “abeyance”: a strategic pause, not a legal breach
Observer Research Foundation
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)
Geocultural power in foreign policy
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
La ley del más fuerte y el factor miedo: Trump redefine el orden internacional
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Claves del acuerdo de Argentina con el FMI: lo clásico como novedad
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
100 días de Trump: testando el sistema
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Institut français des relations internationales
Ulkopoliittinen instituutti (Finnish Institute of International Affairs)
Institut français des relations internationales
Le Japon et les Philippines, alliés « privilégiés » des États-Unis en indo-pacifique ?
International Crisis Group
A rebel border: India’s evolving ties with Myanmar after the coup
Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations
Silence in the Sahel does not equal stability
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
G20 debt negotiations: what can the African Union achieve?
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Center for European Policy Analysis
Russia’s strategy and military thinking: evolving discourse by 2025
Chatham House - The Royal Institute of International Affairs
How China-India relations will shape Asia and the global order
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Rahvusvaheline Kaitseuuringute Keskus (International Centre for Defence and Security)
Distance is not a shield: Russia’s transnational repression in wartime
Österreichische Institut für Internationale Politik (Austrian Institute for International Affairs)
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