- Think tank review
- 20 aprile 2026
Think Tank Review 140 - April 2026
EU politics and institutions
The enlargement process is largely covered in reports noting that, if the Union aspires to deliver on the integration of candidate countries, 2026 should be the year when political rhetoric gives way to operational decisions, the resolution of funding issues, internal reforms and the legal preparations needed for the next accession treaty. Papers link enlargement to security/defence issues, claiming that Ukraine's rapid accession and the construction of a genuine European common defence are not separate projects but rather are mutually necessary components of a single strategy to combat rising nationalism and deter external security threats. Given the heterogeneous situations of the Western Balkan states, Ukraine, Moldova and other candidate countries, further publications advocate stepwise integration into the single market, Schengen and selected policies, tied to verifiable reforms and greater financial and political support. In their opinion, that model would allow for differentiated, reversible accession pathways, while allowing the EU time to reform its own institutions and decision-making rules.
European Policy Centre
Thinking enlarged in 2026: leveraging perspectives from future member states
European Policy Centre
Unlocking enlargement and building common defence: next steps for the European Union
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (German Council on Foreign Relations)
Europe's next enlargement: what Berlin, Paris, and The Hague really think
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Six ways to better involve national parliaments in EU affairs
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
EU-Erweiterung: sonderfall Ukraine – Regelfall Westbalkan
Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Ευρωπαϊκής και Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy)
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
EU enlargement – Moving forward with pragmatism
European Policy Centre
Brussels Institute for Geopolitics
Strategic foresight in the EU: the architecture of tomorrow
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)
Hungary’s 2026 elections: scenarios and implications for the EU and Ukraine
EU policies
Focusing on space policy issues, certain publications describe the reshaping of space from a specialised industrial domain into a foundational layer of economic competitiveness and geopolitical power. According to forecasts, the global space economy could reach USD1.8 trillion by 2035. To overcome institutional, financial and industrial fragmentation, Europe should compete globally in areas such as launchers, satellite manufacturing and secure connectivity. It should also embrace simplification, capital mobilisation and industrial consolidation to secure its place in the emerging space order. As economic security has become a top priority, the EU and its member states should face the challenges and explore ways forward as the US and China increasingly use their dominant position in the international economy to coerce smaller actors. Papers also focus on the role of central banks, which have become major strategic players in international economic balances. Their influence in the West rests on a unique institutional capacity to create monetary liquidity, enabling the acquisition of assets or the refinancing of banking institutions. In response to this Western financial architecture, China and Russia are accelerating the development of alternative infrastructures such as cross-border payment systems or multilateral digital currency projects. On the environment, reports claim that, to avoid backsliding in the European Green Deal goals, the EU should rethink its approach and place the welfare of all European citizens at the core of its climate policy. The 'Hormuz shock' and what it entails for the EU's gas security and decarbonisation is also discussed, with the solutions proposed including a faster deployment of domestic clean energy, better electricity grids, and a coordinated EU industrial strategy.
Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space)
Fondation pour l’innovation politique
La guerre par la norme: la régulation, arme économique stratégique
Centre for European Policy Studies
Building a European competitive edge in space
LUISS School of European Political Economy
Intangible assets and the position of European countries in global value chains
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
Scaling CESEE innovation: Ecosystem dynamics and strategic relocation opportunities
European Council on Foreign Relations
Beijing hold’em: European cards against Chinese coercion
Economic and Financial Affairs
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Regresando a Sargent: Estados Unidos entonces, Europa ahora
Bertelsmann Stiftung
The devil is in the budget – a comprehensive guide to the MFF negotiations
Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier (Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies)
EU:s ekonomiska stöd efter pandemin. Stora ambitionaer, oklara resultat
Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier (Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies)
Governing economic security: challenges and ways forward for the EU and its member states
Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
Crowding in or crowding out? Public and private investment in the Western Balkans
Institut français des relations internationales
Les banques centrales, enjeux et outils des rivalités géopolitiques
Economic and Social Research Institute
The Irish economy in the 2020s
Centre for European Reform
Europe's door to chinese tech investment is still ajar
Centre for European Policy Studies
Savings and investment accounts: the wrapper is easy – the system is not
Centre for European Policy Studies
Bruegel
National plans, regional voices: cohesion policy in the next European Union budget
Employment / Social Policy / Health and Consumer Affairs
Economic and Social Research Institute
The impact of a minimum wage increase on employment: evidence from Ireland
Brussels Institute for Geopolitics
European Policy Centre
Fostering AI resilience in the EU labour market
European Policy Centre
Migrant labour in Farm-to-Fork: fixing governance gaps, putting dignity at work
European Policy Centre
Divergence in diversity: why women’s health matters
Forum for research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (FREE Network)
Discrimination in work conditions: the case of sexual harassment
Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada
El bono social en energía: análisis y propuestas
RAND Europe
Cost–benefit analysis for synthetic nucleic acid screening in the European Union
Environmental Issues
Institute for Public Policy Research
Apathy and opposition: understanding the real threats to net zero
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
La reconfiguración de la gobernanza climática en 2026
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
There can be no climate policy in Europe without social justice: time for a new approach
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Mobilising and scaling up local climate action
Europe Jacques Delors
Brookings Institution
Carbon pricing and inflation expectations
E3G
Facts over fiction: why the EU ETS is key for a competitive, secure Europe
Bruegel
Bruegel
Investing for tomorrow: long-term investment, economic scale and the green transition
Justice and Home Affairs
Institut français des relations internationales
(Extra)territorialité des données: quelle souveraineté pour l'Europe ?
European Policy Centre
Developing a new sanctions regime to counter migrant smuggling and human trafficking
Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Ευρωπαϊκής και Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy)
Migration trends in Greece: key developments and challenges in 2024 – 2025
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Tratamiento policial y judicial del terrorismo yihadista en España (2015-2025)
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
La aplicación del Pacto Europeo de migración y asilo: hacia políticas más restrictivas
Fondation Robert Schuman
Transport / Telecommunications / Energy
Hertie School - Jacques Delors Centre
The EU's digital omnibus is heading in the wrong direction
Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada
Inteligencia artificial: impacto económico, competencia y regulación
Instituto Português de Relações Internacionais
O regulamento dos serviços digitais no contexto do retrocesso democrático
Tænketanken EUROPA
Europe’s quantum challenge: the EU must ensure rapid commercialization without sacrificing cohesion
European Centre for Development Policy Management
Troubled waters: Europe's subsea telecommunications network
Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Ευρωπαϊκής και Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy)
The EU’s AI strategy: challenges and the way forward
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
European Council on Foreign Relations
The electric endgame: Europe’s clean path out of vassalage
E3G
Industrial electrification in the EU: blocked by the grid?
E3G
Revision of the governance regulation of the energy union and climate action
Κυπριακό Κέντρο Ευρωπαϊκών και Διεθνών Υποθέσεων (Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs)
Centre for European Policy Studies
Building an EU industrial ecosystem of circularity applications for battery packs
Bruegel
Dependence on fossil fuels, not on the United States, is Europe’s worry
Bruegel
The case for a European Union digital enforcement authority
Hertie School - Jacques Delors Centre
From strategy to implementation: building an EU–India AI partnership
Forum for research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (FREE Network)
The Hormuz shock: EU’s gas security and decarbonization fragility
Foreign and security policy / Defence
Papers advocate the adoption of a grand new European security strategy, not just to address President Trump's policy towards Europe, but also to effectively tackle the threat from Russia, the challenge of China, and the issues of the Middle East. In the same vein, strategic autonomy is needed in an age of power politics, meaning capacity and choice, and not isolation. Under a new mindset, Europe should think in terms of power as well as values, building an industrial and security base that can withstand crises. Also, to tackle the challenges arising from Russia's imperialist ambitions, China's economic coercion, and US withdrawal from its commitments on European security, Europe needs higher levels of defence spending to support rearmament and improve military readiness across Europe. This will be possible if governments can gain the public's support. Finally, reports address the question of how the EU can transform itself from an economic giant into a geopolitical powerhouse. This requires the EU to take decisive steps forward to enable the member states and institutions to cooperate more effectively.
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
With, without, against Washington: redefining Europe’s relations with the United States
İstanbul Politikalar Merkezi (Istanbul Policy Center)
After “made in EU”: what comes next for EU-Türki̇ye economic relations?
Bertelsmann Stiftung
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Algorithmic migration: how digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence are reshaping global mobility
Trans European Policy Studies Association
Strategic autonomy in an age of power politics
The German Marshall Fund of the United States
The EU-Türkiye interdependence dilemma
Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Ευρωπαϊκής και Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy)
Greek economic diplomacy: challenges and opportunities for the future
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Relaciones UE-India I: la dimensión bilateral de las negociaciones
Geopolitics and Security Studies Center
Observer Research Foundation
The EU’s ‘geopolitical actorness’ in the Gulf: purpose, state of play, and potential
Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku (Belgrade Centre for Security Policy)
Friends or foes? External actors and the EU’s Western Balkans policy
Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen - Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations)
From economic giant to geopolitical powerhouse? A roadmap towards enhancing the EU’s global clout
European Policy Centre
The virtues of a less incomplete superpower
Forum for research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (FREE Network)
The Hormuz blockade: winners, losers, and vulnerabilities
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)
Trump's foreign policy divides the transatlantic far right
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (German Council on Foreign Relations)
Allies and partners: the future of relations with China
European Union Institute for Security Studies
China - A fragile power? How Europe can use its economic leverage over Beijing
European Council on Foreign Relations
Borrowed mouths and laundered messages: China’s influence playbook in Europe
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Building comprehensive security: rethinking Europe’s toolbox for peace and conflict transformation
Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations
A grand new European security strategy
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Advancing European military capacity in space
Fondation Robert Schuman
Les opérations militaires de l'Union européenne - Partie 1
Fondation Robert Schuman
Les opérations militaires de l'Union européenne - Partie 2
Atlantic Council
How the West lost the post-Cold War era
Atlantic Council
How NATO can integrate AI to prevail in future algorithmic warfare
Bruegel
Reforming European defence procurement to boost military innovation and startups
Carnegie Europe
Resetting cyber relations with the United States
Centre for European Reform
How to build public suport for defence spending in Europe
Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier (Danish Institute of International Studies)
The EU in a changing threat landscape at sea
European Council on Foreign Relations
From shield to sword: Europe’s offensive strategy for the hybrid age
European Policy Centre
Cyber sanctions: strengthening EU–UK responses to escalating threats
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Another ‘twist’ on subsea cable repair: developments in Europe and what role, if any, for Ireland
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (Friedrich Ebert Foundation)
Europäische Verteidigung: jenseits der Manövertheorie
Geopolitics and Security Studies Center
Security on NATO’s edge: how transatlantic policy shifts affect Lithuania
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (Heinrich Böll Foundation)
The European pillar in NATO: from hollow to concrete
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague
Hybrid threat signals: assessing possible Iranian involvement in recent attacks in Europe
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague
From Tehran to Europe: terrorism risks after the killing of Iran’s Ayatollah
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Meloni’s defence policy: adjusting the balance sheet to crises
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Unlocking strategic potential outside the EU: Italy-Turkey bilateral partnership in defence
Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen - Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations)
Powering resilience: why energy innovation matters for European security and defence
Österreichische Gesellschaft für Europapolitik (Austrian Society for European Politics)
Die Stunde der EU-Armee? Eine Policy-Analyse
Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych (Polish Institute of International Affairs)
(Un)safe waters: the Baltic Sea region and the redefinition of security in Europe
Rahvusvaheline Kaitseuuringute Keskus (International Centre for Defence and Security)
The Russian way of ceasefires and the traps it sets for Europe
Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier (Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies)
ReArming Europe: what is the current state of affairs?
The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Hybrid threats to democratic processes in the EU’s Eastern neighborhood, Moldova’s 2025 elections
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Europäische Sahel-Politik: zurück auf Start
European Centre for Development Policy Management
Les compétences vertes en Afrique: ce que l’Europe et la Chine ont à offrir
Institut français des relations internationales
L’aide publique au développement à l’ère de la démondialisation
Centrum Analiz Społeczno-Ekonomicznych (Center for Social and Economic Research)
The role of the WTO in EU trade: state of play ahead of WTO MC14
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
UE-Mercosur y la agricultura europea: temores legítimos y garantías reales
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
Can plurilateral agreements save global free trade?
Global affairs
The attack on Iran and the future of sanctions on Russian oil are analysed, with a hypothesis suggesting a potential positive impact on Russia's oil and gas revenues by narrowing the discount on Russian crude and effectively undermining the effectiveness of sanctions. Also discussed are Operation Epic Fury against Iran and its possible implications for global energy security, the energy transition, and oil supply shock; why China claims Taiwan and why the US is involved; the Iran war in the Middle East and how the states of the region are reacting; the cost of closing the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in energy bottlenecks and global food insecurity; and what the war in Iran means for China.
Institut français des relations internationales
Le Canada de Mark Carney, un an après
Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques
L’autoritarisme est-il une fatalité dans les sociétés du Moyen-Orient et d’Afrique du Nord ?
Brookings Institution
Equality as a guiding principle for US policy on Israel-Palestine
Brookings Institution
Thinking through America’s baseline priorities on Taiwan
Brookings Institution
Perspectives on the US-Mexico relationship, what next?
Brookings Institution
Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich (Centre for Eastern Studies)
Chaos is a blessing: the attack on Iran and the future of sanctions on Russian oil
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Operation Epic Fury and the international law on the use of force
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Board of Peace and funding for Gaza reconstruction: on whose account?
E3G
Iran implications for global energy security and transition
Chatham House - The Royal Institute of International Affairs
Breaking the deadlock on AI governance
E3G
Chokepoints: a systemic threat to energy security for oil and gas importers
The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Relocated civic actors: time for a comprehensive support framework
Institute for National Security Studies
The Iran war and the politicization of the US–Israel relationship
Institute for National Security Studies
The Gulf states in the shadow of the war with Iran
European Centre for Development Policy Management
From Brazil to the world: open digital infrastructure for climate cooperation
Brussels Institute for Geopolitics
Geopolitics in the boardroom: risk analysis and anticipation
Institute for Public Policy Research
Britain's strategy for a decade of danger: our nation, our continent, our world
Forum for research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (FREE Network)
Council on Foreign Relations
Taiwan explained: why China claims it, and why the U.S. is involved
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Vulnerabilidades sistémicas ante la disrupción del estrecho de Ormuz
Real Instituto Elcano (Elcano Royal Institute)
Energía y conflicto en Oriente Medio: actualización de escenarios
Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos
La evolución de la gran estrategia de China
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
Peace through strength? Questioning the Middle East’s (dis)order
Institute for Public Policy Research
Adapt or die: why progressives need to deal with extreme weather
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (Centre for European Economic Research)
Did the defend trade secrets act spur the reliance on trade secrets?
Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs)
From oil to minerals: Gulf states as middle powers in the race for critical minerals
Bruegel
What the war in Iran means for China
Bruegel
Tackling India's jobs plight: underutilised levers and lessons from China
Rahvusvaheline Kaitseuuringute Keskus (International Centre for Defence and Security)
The Yin and Yang of Russia’s image in China: netizen discourse and real-life implications
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)
The cost of closing the strait of Hormuz: energy bottlenecks and global food security
Magyar Külügyi Intézet / Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
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