Issue No. 195 | 3 September 2026 | Megghi Pengili
Thirty-two severe cyberattacks on critical infrastructures between 2000 and 20261 made one reality undeniable: traditional risk governance across the Western Balkans is no longer enough. Conventional research prioritises cyberconflicts and technical capabilities but overlooks the emergence of adaptive, learning-driven governance that affects resilience. This paper bridges this gap by pioneering a resilience model that integrates the EU’s NIS2 directive, NIST CSF 2.0, and learning flows. This model is shaped by the region’s cyberposture and presents a novel blueprint for national cyberreadiness which, in this case, is not just a domestic necessity for the region’s countries but a cornerstone for EU membership and collective EU cyberresilience.
Issue No. 194 | 27 July 2026 | Yannis Papadopoulos
This paper discusses current challenges facing European Public Service Media from a theoretical and practical perspective. While it acknowledges risks, it sees technology, in particular AI tools, as an asset which – if used properly – will be beneficial. The paper focuses on the successful example of the ‘European Perspective’, an initiative of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) of which ERT is an active member and a partner, and considers deeper collaboration at EU level as a precondition to strengthen the role of Public Service Media.
Issue No. 193 | 30 June 2026 | Tamar Gamkrelidze
Georgia's path toward EU membership remains in limbo, as the country's accession process has effectively been suspended by the Georgian Dream government, driven by narrow party and private interests. Yet Georgia is not irreversibly lost to the EU. Rather, the current trajectory under Georgian Dream is fundamentally transactional, fragile, and contingent, resting on patronage networks, fear-based mobilisation, and a foreign policy increasingly disconnected from overwhelmingly pro-European public preferences. Consequently, the durability of this trajectory depends on evolving geopolitical dynamics and the opposition's ability to overcome fragmentation, unite, and mobilise the large pool of undecided voters, while its long-term consolidation remains constrained by deeply entrenched pro-European sentiment in Georgian society, which continues to provide a durable foundation for renewed European integration.
Issue No. 192 | 19 May 2026 | Peter Gentle
Exploring the legacy of Portugal’s 40-year relationship with the EU, this paper investigates the shifting boundaries of domestic populism, immigration rhetoric, and constitutional debate. It argues that while the rise of the radical right signals an end to Portuguese isolation from continental friction, the European framework remains a vital democratic stabiliser. The analysis highlights how shifting voter participation and institutional resilience have preserved the nation's rare status as a global "full democracy".
Issue No. 191 | 7 May 2026 | Jana Stehlíková
The security–privacy dilemma resurfaced in March 2026 when the Council of the EU and the European Parliament voted on extending the “Chat Control 1.0” Interim Regulation. The proposal prompted intense debate between data protection advocates and those favouring stronger cyber regulation. This paper analyses the controversy and the political and normative tensions underpinning it, and asks how the outcome—the termination of the provisional act after five years without a successor to combat online child sexual abuse—should be interpreted. It contributes to the broader debate on balancing security and privacy in the EU, questioning whether an effective protective tool was dismantled or whether a disproportionate surveillance gap was ultimately closed.
Issue No. 190 | 17 April 2026 | Giulia Cretti
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which applies a levy on carbon-intensive imports from countries without comparable carbon pricing, increases costs for European importers and downstream industries. EU companies thus have an interest in ensuring that their counterparts abroad comply with CBAM requirements and reduce the carbon footprint of their products. This aligns well with the so-called carbon diplomacy efforts of the European Commission, which aim to promote carbon pricing policies in partner countries. However, there is still scope to better align these efforts with EU industrial competitiveness objectives. This policy brief proposes turning carbon diplomacy into a strategic instrument of industrial policy, with a stronger focus on key trading partners, emphasis on MRV interoperability and mutual recognition of ETS, and integration into external instruments such as Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships and Team Europe Initiatives. Ultimately, such an approach can strengthen Europe’s long-term competitiveness and decarbonisation while accelerating the transition to renewable energy in industrial production.
Issue No. 189 | 10 April 2026 | Ayushi Parashar
This paper examines the energy security-related dynamics of renewable energy transition between India and China, exploring whether it presents more challenges or opportunities for India. Respectively, as the world’s largest and third-largest energy consumers, China and India’s shift towards renewable energy has significant implications for global climate goals and energy markets. This paper analyses the potential for collaboration between the two states, highlighting shared interests in climate change mitigation and the benefits of cooperation in renewable energy development. It also examines the competitive aspects of their relationship, focusing on China’s dominance in manufacturing and critical mineral supply chains, which pose challenges to India’s energy security and technological autonomy. The paper further investigates India’s policy responses, including initiatives to boost domestic manufacturing and diversify international partnerships. By assessing these factors, the research aims to provide insights into India’s strategic position in the renewable energy sector and its prospects in the context of its relationship with China.
Issue No. 188 | 17 March 2026 | Doris Dialer
Lobbying and foreign influence are normal, integrated activities in EU policy formulation and decision-making. Moreover, the EU’s openness towards lobbying is central to the legitimacy of its law-making. However, the EU is facing a rapidly changing international order that affects not only its global role but also the ways in which it interacts with the possible undue influence of third countries. As a consequence, the EU has been enhancing the transparency of foreign ‘influence’ by broadening the scope of the Transparency Register, a public EU lobby database jointly managed by the three law-making institutions. This paper aims to show that the tension between the functional need for openness to the lobbying of third states and the necessity for regulation is likely to become more important in the years to come.
Issue No. 187 | 27 February 2026 | Rachel Guyet
The EU's just transition framework, once heralded as pioneering, confronts a challenging reality at national level. Member States' failure to meet Social Climate Plan deadlines, superficial analysis of distributional impacts of the decarbonisation policies in their National Energy and Climate Plans, and opaque consultation processes reveal a disconnect between the European institutional architecture and the political will of national governments. The persistent gap between stated ambition and concrete action threatens social cohesion and risks undermining public acceptance of Europe's decarbonisation agenda.
Issue No. 186 | 23 December 2025 | George N. Tzogopoulos
This essay sets out to analyse Sino-European relations. As it stands, the situation currently mirrors the upward trend witnessed after China’s re-opening after the Covid-19 lockdowns. Relations are therefore relatively stable, and certainly better in comparison to the problematic early-2020 to 2023 period. Although the war in Ukraine and economic disputes tend to dominate the agenda in discussions, the fact that the two sides need each other makes co-operation necessary/a necessity in a globalised world. The second Trump presidency may not contribute to the automatic improvement in Sino-European relations but it does put pressure on the EU to seriously think about its strategic autonomy concept. Intensified dialogue with China – despite differences – has become a sine qua non parameter in securing a mutually beneficial way forward.
Issue No. 185 | 15 December 2025 | Laurent Baechler
Public debt in advanced economies stands at around 110% of GDP, close to historic highs, posing economic, social and political challenges. It is rising due to the combined effects of persistent deficits, higher interest rates and a structural slowdown in economic growth. On both the expenditure and revenue sides, structural factors will make it difficult to restore fiscal sustainability over time, creating a risk of financial instability and making conventional public debt management strategies – such as inflation or debt restructuring – more attractive.
Issue No. 184 | 12 December 2025 | Labinot Greiçevci
This policy paper scrutinises the relationship between the EU and the Western Balkans through historical developments, geopolitical changes, and future perspectives. In doing so, the following issues are addressed: (i) the breakup of Yugoslavia and the involvement of the EU and other international actors in this process; (ii) the growing geopolitical rivalry in the Western Balkans and the extent of existing interaction between the EU and the Western Balkan states; and (iii) the potential future prospects of the EU’s relations with the Western Balkans region. Ultimately, the light is shed on the current state and prospects of the EU-Western Balkans relationship, and on whether the EU can uphold its pivotal role in the region amid shifting regional and global geopolitical circumstances.
Issue No. 183 | 27 November 2025 | Junjie Ma
This paper argues that China–EU economic relations have entered a phase of structural confrontation driven by deep institutional differences, China’s surplus-driven industrial expansion, and Europe’s turn toward defensive regulatory autonomy. Once anchored in trade complementarity and stabilising interdependence, the relationship has shifted toward managed competition as disputes over electric vehicles, steel, solar products, and agri-food items evolve into systemic clashes. Europe’s new regulatory arsenal—ranging from the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism—reflects a long-term shift from market openness to strategic protection. China, facing slowing growth and domestic constraints, increasingly relies on state-led industrial policy and export-oriented overcapacity, heightening European perceptions of “structural dumping.” The United States’ intensifying rivalry with China further narrows Europe’s strategic space, pushing EU policy closer to Washington’s approach. The paper concludes that while tactical compromises may occur, structural friction will persist, and China–EU relations will remain defined by calibrated confrontation within a broader geopolitical realignment.
Issue No. 182 | 18 November 2025 | Samuel Kerschbaumer
This paper assesses the EU's Chips Act amidst the escalating geoeconomic weaponisation of semiconductor supply chains by the US and China. Structural vulnerabilities, including US export controls, reliance on Chinese-controlled rare earths and fragmented national implementation, are shown to prevent the Act from achieving its goal of strategic resilience. Despite Europe's strength in upstream equipment, its lack of coordinated policy and advanced fabrication capacity leaves it exposed to coercion. The forthcoming Chips Act 2.0 must centrally align financing and industrial strategy, moving beyond symbolic targets to secure Europe's technological base.
Issue No. 181 | 30 September 2025 | Jean-Claude Vérez
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become a reality for all economic players, whether governments, businesses or households. Some powers are already at the forefront of AI, particularly in key sectors such as transport, health and science. The impact on employment and working relationships is a source of concern.
Issue No. 181 | 5 September 2025 | Rachel Guyet
Social justice should not be an afterthought in the transition, it must be the foundation that makes it socially and politically acceptable. The paper makes the hypothesis that a successful, just transition requires moving from a vision where security, competitiveness and social justice are opposed. Alternative models to the dominant energy system exist to stimulate the participation of the people in the energy transition. Four of them are deleved into in this paper.