Our new newsletter is out! This issue covers EU–UK economic security in a shifting global order, reactions to von der Leyen’s #SOTEU speech, and more. Read it here➡️ www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/bst-europ... Subscribe via our website ➡️ bst-europe.eu

For EU-UK ties, economic security is still missing. Both sides share trade vulnerabilities & reliance on certain trade partners, which offers a foundation for cooperation, write @jbenford-berlin.bsky.social & @antonspisak.bsky.social in a new policy brief. Read here: bst-europe.eu/europe-in-th...

Our reaction to von der Leyen’s #SOTEU 2025 address yesterday. A serious speech with bold appeals & many initiatives. But is there the unity & coherence of initiatives to accomplish the agenda? A thread on the main points from each of our experts. Full article ➡️ bst-europe.eu/europe-in-th... 1/9

Economic Security is central to the EU’s external strategy - see SOTEU today - but cooperation with the UK remains nascent. Political and structural reasons are behind this but @antonspisak.bsky.social and I think there are grounds for deeper cooperation: www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/our-proje...

Some thoughts on trade in #SOTEU: Aftermath of the EU-US trade deal is the biggest theme (also keeping in mind upcoming votes). VDL: EU got the 'best deal', better than 'competitors' (JP, KOR, UK?). Alternative would have been trade war 'chaos'.

🧵With Russia stepping up attacks on Ukraine's civilians & critical infrastructure, and US Pres Trump now pointing to a "second phase" of sanctions against Russia, my thoughts on the upcoming 19th EU sanctions package remain relevant.

Our Europe newsletter is out today! @dschwarzer.bsky.social shares her thoughts on current events and our colleagues' latest work. Read it here➡️ www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/bst-europ... Want to see it in your inbox next time? Subscribe via the homepage of our website ➡️ bst-europe.eu

As the EU prepares the next Russia sanctions package, @miriamkosmehl.bsky.social explains what could be an effective focus: oil trade and the shadow fleet; banks, dual-use goods and financial flows; and tackling circumvention through third countries. Read more here➡️ bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

Enjoyed speaking with DW News this morning about Texas Rs’ and California Ds’ competing redistricting bills, the potential ripple effects in other critical states, and the broader implications as we head into next year’s midterm elections. Link to view here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2m3...

Gaming and democracy - what's the connection? Our colleagues have taken a look at gamers' attitudes toward politics, democracy, institutions and more with intriguing results. The new study is also available in English, so take a look!

Here we go again. EU just isn't dealing with a good-faith actor on the other side. The lack of interest in anything stable, permanent or predictable doesn't fit into EU's mental model. Ultimately it's about incentives - if there's no negative consequence, US is always going to come back for more.

The @ec.europa.eu's budget proposal for 2028-2034 includes a shift toward national envelopes for regional development & cohesion. This policy brief by @schwabvonpostel.eu & Andrey Demidov offers a view on how the partnership principle could work in this proposed setup: bst-europe.eu/investment-b...

Yesterday, many EU members applied for €100+ billion from the SAFE instrument for defense. But NATO’s new spending goal (which impacts most EU members) isn’t just for military gear—it includes 1.5% for civil preparedness too. How can Europe boost resilience & security? bst-europe.eu/security-pol...

15% tariffs, breaches of WTO rules, more tech dependency – the US deal is a far cry from what the EU wanted. This was not a one-off accident, but exposes longstanding structural weaknesses in EU trade policy that will affect any future negotiation. My analysis🧵 bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

Sunday’s EU-US trade deal wasn’t an accident - structural aspects limit EU trade policy. Member states are quick to shift blame, but strategic dependencies and national interests, among other reasons, make better deals unlikely, writes @etiennehoera.d-64.social bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

China, Russia & the EU are vying for influence in the Southern Caucasus & Central Asia. Will the region be divided or choose its own path? At April’s EU–Central Asia Summit, EUCO’s Costa hailed a “new dimension” in ties, so how can the EU proceed? And what do SCCA’s present connections look like?

More on the EU-China summit: It‘s unsurprising that there wasn‘t a breakthrough, main contentious issues like overcapacity are structural and the result of 🇨🇳 policy choices, highly costly to change even if 🇨🇳 wanted to. 🇪🇺 created new trade instruments precisely because of that, more measures likely.

Listen to @etiennehoera.d-64.social explain the dynamics between the EU and China around yesterday's summit. Check out the interview (in German) below⬇️ www.ndr.de/nachrichten/...

Mit @deutschewelle.bsky.social habe ich über den EU-China Gipfel am 24. Juli 2025 gesprochen. FAZIT: viele Konfliktlinien in den Beziehungen, wenige Erwartungen. youtu.be/5NM_-LaVkjo?... @bst-europe.bsky.social

Ahead of tomorrow’s EU-China summit, the EU faces a tough balancing act between economic interests and geopolitical concerns. What should Brussels do and what should it avoid? This new piece by @corajungbluth.bsky.social lays out the dos and don’ts: bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

From July 9th to August 1st, the tariff deadline has moved but the threat remains. The EU can consider adopting a strategy of flexible, credible retaliation, underpinned by internal burden-sharing, write @etiennehoera.d-64.social & @aleichthammer.bsky.social here 👇 bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

What to expect from this week's EU-China summit? @corajungbluth.bsky.social explains with some dos and don'ts for EU interlocutors here: bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

"German sentiment sits with the UK, but the strategy always stays with the EU”. My thoughts in @economist.com on the - otherwise highly welcome and well-crafted - Anglo-German Friendship Treaty announced today. Thanks to @sambeal.bsky.social www.economist.com/britain/2025...

The Commission proposal for the next long-term EU budget aka MFF just dropped. Its overall volume increases very moderately, but the proposal contains sweeping changes to the way the EU spends money and to budget's priorities. Here is my first quick take:

Trump's tariff letter to the EU threatens 30% from 1 August. How should the EU respond? This piece by @etiennehoera.d-64.social & @aleichthammer.bsky.social explores some ideas for a strategy. Read more: bst-europe.eu/economy-secu...

The Socialists in the EP have leveraged a no-confidence vote put up by the far right to effectively gut a major part of the reform of the EU budget. Stunning development that further imperils the prospect for a major MFF reform. I had hopes that this time would be different. But I was naive. Thread:

1/ The leak for the European Competitiveness Fund has just been made public. Here's a breakdown of the main elements of the proposal. As expected, the COM proposes consolidating several of its directly managed programmes. The draft points to 12/14 programmes merged under a single legal framework

Wir haben eine tolle neue Stelle in Berlin offen für alle EU-Budget-Wonks und insbesondere für alle, die es noch werden wollen. Bewerbung direkt im Link, bei Interesse gerne DM an mich und please spread the word!

Right now at Les Rencontres Économiques d’Aix-en-Provence, one of Europe’s key economic forums 💥 #Frauenpower 👉 How do we restore faith in facts & institutions — and shape a more peaceful society? 💬 Listen to the debate with @dschwarzer.bsky.social www.lesrencontreseconomiques.fr/en/#watch=am...

The EU, its Southern Neighbourhood, & the Gulf Coast Countries can turn shared interests into progress in clean energy, marine protection, secure trade & peace efforts, among others. Read more from Christian Hanelt and Nico Zillekens here: bst-europe.eu/europe-in-th...

New piece by @aleichthammer.bsky.social and me in @ipq.bsky.social: EU‘s cautious approach in the 🇺🇸🇪🇺 trade war has been useful, but has run its course as the 9 July deadline approaches. EU should prepare for flexible retaliation. 🧵 ip-quarterly.com/en/red-lines...

A real pleasure to welcome the UK Minister for EU Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, to a roundtable with stakeholders in Berlin last week. A detailed and forward-looking discussion of the new Strategic Partnership. More can be done but this is a rare positive development in a gloomy int'l environment

3.5 + 1.5 = 5. That's the important maths for the NATO summit starting today. But what's in the 1.5%? @heqs.bsky.social & @schuetzt.bsky.social explain the risks of spending just to meet the target without considering what's needed, and offer recommendations here ⬇️ bst-europe.eu/security-pol...

A smart EU Competitiveness Fund could unlock Europe’s innovation potential. @lucas-res-car.bsky.social shares ideas on how it could work in this policy brief: bst-europe.eu/competitiven...

How bad are things looking in EU-US trade negotiations? More hints that EU accepts 10% baseline tariffs for now, hoping to get something better on steel, cars, pharma (confirmed by Clauss yesterday), agreement in principle first (like UK). US seems to drop (entirely unreasonable)VAT demands.

Hear our Middle East expert Christian Hanelt discuss Iran on this @faznet.bsky.social podcast 📻 podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/i...

Our latest Europe newsletter is out today! Not already subscribed, then why not check it out? Read today's edition by @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social here➡️ www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/bst-europ... Subscribe via the homepage of our website➡️ bst-europe.eu

NATO allies will likely agree to a new defence spending target of 5% of GDP at the upcoming summit, with 1.5% for areas beyond traditional military defence. @schuetzt.bsky.social & @heqs.bsky.social explain why this is a big innovation here 👇 bst-europe.eu/security-pol...

The pretty concise position paper of the new German government on the next long term EU budget aka MFF just dropped. It lends clear support to the Commission's bold reform ideas on the MFF architecture while unsurprisingly also remaining German in a few crucial areas. Here are the main elements:

We’re live in Berlin with a full house! Daniela Schwarzer and Lucas Guttenberg kick off a spirited discussion on whether coalitions of the willing can save Europe. Follow here for more updates and insights ⬇️

We're looking forward to hosting this timely event at our Berlin office this evening! bst-europe.eu/europes-futu...

📢📢📢 Our Europe team has a new website! Timely insights, policy briefs & more. Check out what we’ve been working on—incl. my work on EU-China, Asia-Pacific, De-risking, international trade & investment → bst-europe.eu @bst-europe.bsky.social

🚀 We have a new website! We offer evidence-based ideas and practical recommendations to strengthen Europe’s ability to act—on Europe's economy, resilience, geopolitics and more. Explore the new website → bst-europe.eu

New Policy Brief by @lucas-res-car.bsky.social with recommendations for a smart European Competitiveness Fund: Clear scope, full toolbox, agile governance—read more here: bst-europe.eu/competitiven...

Wenig überraschend: „der will doch nur verhandeln“ war immer eine Illusion. Es gibt für diese Administration keine Vorstellung von Entgegenkommen, die nicht Unterwerfung bedeutet. Das ist eine Reaktion auf den ersten EU-Textvorschlag.

Five thoughts on today's EU-UK summit 🧵

The UK's outdated red lines and the EU's obsession with coherence in third party relations have made it pretty hard to keep the real goal in sight - Europe's security and prosperity. Still, today's summit is a welcome step forward. My take on today's likely events. globaleurope.eu/europes-futu...

From gallium to tungsten, Europe's green future runs through China. The Critical Raw Materials Act aims to reduce dependency on a single country by diversifying supply, recycling, and extracting in the EU. Read more about its strengths and weaknesses here: globaleurope.eu/europes-futu...

For some EU members, trade w/ the US is a large portion of their GDP, for others not so much. This piece by @etiennehoera.d-64.social, @aleichthammer.bsky.social & @aslak.bsky.social argues for burden sharing among member states to soften the impact of the trade war: globaleurope.eu/europes-futu...

〽️ How to survive a trade war: @aleichthammer.bsky.social, @aslak.bsky.social (@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social) and @etiennehoera.d-64.social (@bertelsmannst.bsky.social) make the case for #EU burden-sharing in light of Trump's #tariffs - read their #oped here 👉 www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati...