The 21st century human experience is one of relentless flux and systemic upheaval. Yet in Europe at least, we have far more in common than a sense of atomisation in a breaking world - hard-won unity as a source of meaning and a foundation for action. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/viGIn @europeanfuture.bsky.social

☂️ Nuclear deterrence with a European dimension is becoming an operational reality. Between American strategic withdrawal and the Russian menace, Macron has offered a glimpse of what operationalization looks like. Read the full analysis by Claude-France Arnould here: shorturl.at/8UL5i

🛢️ As Gulf tensions rattle energy markets, Europe is again reminded of its exposure to external fossil fuel shocks. In our 4 BIG Questions interview, @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social says diversification helped - but real security means cutting fossil fuel dependence.🔗Full interview: shorturl.at/mgOPD

🧩As geopolitical risk reshapes investment, partnerships and market access, companies are starting to embed it into strategy - not just risk management. BIG’s Thomas Laffitte explores how firms are bringing geopolitical judgement into corporate governance. 🔗 Full paper here: shorturl.at/GD6jK

In a dangerous world, the EU is under pressure to step up defence spending. Our new Report by @vestertborger.bsky.social takes stock of the financial mechanisms, budgetary politics and hard choices behind the existential challenge of our time – defending Europe. 📖🔗 Read it here: shorturl.at/JaHoh

On the 4th anniversary of land warfare’s grim return to European soil, BIG convened an expert webinar to take stock of the situation on the ground – and reflect upon the wider geostrategic implications of Ukraine’s struggle. Watch the conversation below ⬇️ or read the report here: shorturl.at/C37EZ

Four years of war in Ukraine has turned geopolitical positioning into domestic political rifts. Across Central/Eastern Europe, populists are using this divide to their advantage, with the upcoming Hungarian elections – and Orbán’s latest manoeuvres – a telling case in point. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/6vQfJ

The EU’s #SAFE instrument will make nearly €150bn of loans available for Member States to buy weaponry and defence systems. Investment plans for FR, CZ and HU are still under assessment by the Commission - but for 16 others, the Council of the #EU is now releasing the funds. Here's who gets what. ⬇️

Join us to reflect on Ukraine’s resilience, Europe’s reckoning and the strategic questions demanding answers. On 24 February, BIG is hosting a webinar on Ukraine’s endurance and Europe’s strategic choices, with Mariana Budjeryn, Ed Arnold and Oleksandra Azarkhina. 🔗 Register: shorturl.at/UAaRg

Europe is looking to the stars in 2026 - but “failure to launch” is a real risk 🔭 Uncoordinated national “coopetition” can fragment delivery. In his latest essay for BIG, Alban Guyomarc’h argues tech roadmaps can bridge rhetoric to deployable systems. Read the full article here: 🔗 shorturl.at/0KaDO

Time for Brexit Britain to come in from the cold? With the ‘Special Relationship’ turning sour, and the next UK-EU summit pencilled in for the spring, BIG’s Martin Leng argues that the UK should re-embrace its European destiny while it still remains politically possible. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/5m157

Success. 🇪🇺🤝🇮🇳

Faced with the New America, a compelling new narrative of who ‘We’ are is a vital ideological bulwark. Writing for @euractiv.com today, BIG's Director @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social calls on Europe to relearn the ‘language of power’ – and reclaim the power of language. 🔗 Read here: shorturl.at/8XojK

At tomorrow’s #EU–#India Summit, a partnership with real geopolitical weight meets its moment of truth. Brussels leans on rules and standards; New Delhi defends policy space. BIG’s Valeria Santi examines why bridging the governance gap is now the central geopolitical task. ⬇️ 🔗 shorturl.at/brYB5

While Mark Carney may have charted a new strategic direction in #Davos, Trump’s Greenland climbdown reveals that Mark Rutte's flattery and diplomacy remain essential survival skills. BIG's @hanskribbe.bsky.social dissects the repercussions from an Alpine summit like no other. ⬇️ 🔗 shorturl.at/epJuF

The #EU’s shift away from #oil and #gas is good news for the planet – but for its fossil fuels suppliers, the picture is more complex. Writing for Nature Energy, BIG Fellow Thijs Van de Graaf explores the moral and geopolitical dilemma behind Europe’s green transition. ➡️ shorturl.at/xp26D

🗺️ Most maps push the Arctic to the margins. On a polar projection, the High North is an operational arena – shipping, cables, air corridors, early warning and SAR. 🧭🧩 💡 BIG’s map shows how Arctic connectivity reshapes distance, access and influence. 🔗 Check the map here: shorturl.at/PG6fE

🎙️ BIG's @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social spoke with @euscream.bsky.social for their latest episode. What next after the geostrategic wake-up call in the High North? 🔊⬇️ Listen here now: Spotify: shorturl.at/6QESm Web: shorturl.at/8v6HY #Greenland #Denmark #Trump #USA #Security #Defence

Icy #Greenland is suddenly a geopolitical hotspot. High on the rush of a smash-and-grab operation in Caracas, the US administration has doubled down on its threats to annex the island this week – and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen has warned that such a move would herald ‘the end of #NATO’. Our take ⬇️

It's not too late to give the gift of geopolitics this Christmas. 🎄🌍📚 From the reverberations of history and memory to the hypothetical nuclear crises of the future, you're sure to find a festive read to suit any taste on BIG's Christmas bookshelf. 🔗 big-europe.eu/publications...

In Central and Eastern Europe, #geopolitics is both an old wound and a new political faultline. The #EU must tread carefully, argues BIG's Thomas Laffitte, lest opponents become polarized foes in a reductive battle of civilizations which may do more harm than good. ⬇️ #CEE 🔗 shorturl.at/KjRsX

🎙️ Nuestro podcast lleva el micrófono a Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, autora y periodista argentina. Una conversación compleja y provocadora acerca de la historia, los idiomas, el #poder – y la incertidumbre en las relaciones futuras entre #Europa y #Latinoamérica. 🎧 Escucha aquí: shorturl.at/z57nA

The Franco-German squabble over the FCAS fighter jet is a show of weakness just when Europe needs to be projecting strength, argues Martin Leng from the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics (@bigeurope.bsky.social) in this guest op-ed. www.the-sentinel.media/p/op-ed-fcas...

As #Trump takes aim at #Europe, our guest writer Mark Gilbert counters that both its cheerleaders and detractors – US and European – have created a false dichotomy. The European project is both more complex and subtle than either Euro-boosters or sceptics would have us believe. ⬇️ 🔗 shorturl.at/Xi5hg

In a wide-ranging interview on #Ukraine, #Trump and the new geopolitical order, BIG's Director @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social spoke with El Pais about the urgency of Europe's present moment. 🔗 Read the full conversation: shorturl.at/CTzPH @elpais.com

Any doubts about American intentions vis-à-vis #Ukraine and #Europe were put to rest on Friday with the #US' new #NationalSecurity Strategy. BIG's Claude-France Arnould argues the only way to avoid a nightmare is to wake up - and start building effective European power, now. 🔗 shorturl.at/4UinV

The #EU announced its new #EconomicSecurity Strategy this week. 💶🔒 A toolkit without an instruction manual, argues BIG's Hans Kribbe: 'If the #Commission really wants to deploy the EU's economic policy arsenal to achieve foreign/security goals, we deserve to know what those goals are.' Our take ⬇️

While Washington and Moscow negotiate, Kyiv and Brussels assess the stark choices ahead. We asked former UA gov minister Oleksandra Azarkhina four BIG questions - on her impressions of #EU defence coordination, American claims on mineral rights, and what #Ukraine needs now. 🔗 shorturl.at/DvBml

Thought that building a shared European identity was hard? Try developing a common strategic culture. 🧩🧩🧩 'An EU security revolution begins with culture, with rediscovering what Europe stands for and what it is prepared to defend', writes BIG's Kate O'Riordan. ⬇️ 🔗 shorturl.at/x1MSB

In recent weeks, the #EU described #Georgia as a membership candidate ‘in name only’. How did it come to this for Tbilisi? The country's 5th President Salome Zourabichvili writes for BIG on what's at stake - and what Europe should do now. 💡⬇️ 🔗 big-europe.eu/publications... #Enlargement #Caucasus

The EU needs an economic security council, @bigeurope.bsky.social’s Luuk van Middelaar & Hans Kribbe argue in our fall issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-needs-...

Between what's agreed in Belém and Europe's green future, there lies uncertain geopolitical reality. Let's explore it! 🔍🍃 📅 Join us at BIG on 18/11 as we chart a course through the geostrategic risks for the EU's green transition - including expert input live from #COP30. 🔗 shorturl.at/rT8Q5

The #EU faces geopolitical dilemmas which demand strategic vision. Writing in @euractiv.com today, BIG's @hanskribbe.bsky.social argues for a new EU #EconomicSecurity Council to create the silo-busting geoeconomic coordination the institutions urgently need. ⬇️ 🔗 www.euractiv.com/opinion/how-...

In death as in life, Kenya's former PM Raila ‘Baba’ Odinga engendered an affection and unity which few European leaders could muster. 📩 Writing from Nairobi, @paulnolan.bsky.social reflects on a leader's legacy - and how his story gave political vibrancy to an entire nation. ➡️ shorturl.at/bvBjA

🎙️ BIG's latest podcast is here - we're Handing Over the Mic to @irene-khan.bsky.social, UN SR on freedom of opinion/expression. How does she assess Europe's role in shaping global tech governance? @euroculture.bsky.social Listen now 🎧⤵️ Spotify: shorturl.at/WUz5Y Apple podcasts: shorturl.at/TREXG

💊🚗 #Pharma prowess has become a major lever of power and prestige. But as with the #EV industry, Europe risks being overtaken by #China on drug development and production if it doesn't shift gears now. What lessons can be learned? 🔗 shorturl.at/8tMCF

🚨 On 6 November, BIG welcomes Sir Nick Clegg for the Brussels launch of his new book, 'How to Save the Internet: The Threat to Global Connection in the Age of AI and Political Conflict'. Join us! ➡️🔗 Info and registration: shorturl.at/pc8DP

🖥️🌍 The EU and its partners share a quest for greater digital independence from China and the US. As Day Two of the #GlobalGateway Forum gets underway in Brussels, Sabine Muscat writes for BIG on how a compelling, just European tech offer to the Global South should take shape. 🔗 shorturl.at/XjQUF

As Copenhagen's summit week concludes, disruptive #drone incursions set the tone and brought Moscow's hybrid war to #EUCO. We asked @rynning.bsky.social about the significance of the operation, how the continent should respond, and the view from #Denmark. 🔗 shorturl.at/S6koq @d-ias.bsky.social

⛽ Once hailed as 'molecules of freedom', US oil and gas now expose the EU to the whims of the White House. As #EUCO meets today with a ban on Russian LNG on their agenda, @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social argues that #energy independence lies not in a new supplier, but a new path. 🔗 shorturl.at/Ww3D5

❓ Is the European Political Community quietly becoming a new pillar of Europe's geopolitical governance? That's the BIG idea we discussed yesterday with Her Excellency Daniela Morari, Ambassador of #Moldova to the EU, and a host of other esteemed guests, ahead of the 7th #EPC summit on 2 October.

🚨🎧 Your weekend listen is here. 🎙️ In this episode of Handing Over the Mic, we hear from Vera Songwe – economist and leader in development, finance and policy – on Africa’s evolving relationship with Europe and the world economy. Listen here ⤵️ Spotify: shorturl.at/hcrVI Apple: shorturl.at/ok7FQ

📱 ‘In the #digital arena, the #EU is still playing a rules-based version of nobody-gets-hurt judo, whereas the other major players have shifted to something more like mixed martial arts.’ In this BIG essay, @dmugge.bsky.social defends European self-determination in an age of digital imperialism. ⤵️

We extend our warmest congratulations to BIG's Advisory Council member Kajsa Ollongren as she takes up this exciting new role with Europe's values firmly at its heart. 👏

🌍 Mapping Geopolitics: The ‘Trump Effect’ Since Trump’s return, EU trust in the US has plunged, from 47% to 29% in just 6 months. 🇩🇰 Denmark saw the biggest drop, while 🇷🇴 Romania & 🇧🇬 Bulgaria stayed positive. big-europe.eu/publications...

🇨🇳 In 1989, Wang Dan led student protests in Tiananmen Square. “We had no blueprint, only hope.” As part of BIG's #Project1989, he reflects on that moment, civil society and the struggle for democracy in China and beyond. 🔗 Read the full interview here: shorturl.at/McBcl

🌍 As the EU-China summit unfolds in Beijing as we speak, BIG retraces the ancient Silk Road from Rome. Once a main artery of trade culture, we explore if it is still possible to walk these paths with modern geopolitical roadblocks 🔗 the full map: shorturl.at/O0tJK #china #summit #eu #geopolitics

💬 ‘Hunched forward, with mirrored posture, Trump and Zelensky huddle deep in conversation' 📷 In BIG's first photo essay, we how a seemingly impromptu photograph taken before Pope Francis’s funeral service currently stands as the most significant geopolitical image of 2025. Read: shorturl.at/7J6YV

🇪🇺🇨🇳 On the eve of the EU–China summit, Ties Dams asks: Can Europe earn great power recognition? or is it still caught between U.S. decline and China's rise? 50 years after the genesis of EU-China relations, the stakes are just as high 🔗 big-europe.eu/publications... #EU #China #Geopolitics #Summit

‘On the European continent, ‘civilization’ is almost considered a dirty word...' 🇪🇺🇨🇳With the EU-China summit fast approaching in the next few days, can historical identity become a form of soft power in today’s geopolitical order? Read more here: big-europe.eu/publications...