The EU can’t change Trump – But it can change itself
Right after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally signed the landmark free trade agreement with Latin American trading bloc Mercosur, US President...
Trump’s ‘flexible realism’ is strategic, honest and overdue
By Ryan Grillo
The muscular foreign policy of President Trump is not about glory for glory’s sake. It is a clear expression of America First.
Trump’s...
The EU’s “energy transition” is accelerating the exodus of major industrial...
By Professor Em. Samuel Furfari. He is a Chemical Engineer, having taught energy geopolitics and energy politics at Brussels ULB University (Université Libre de Bruxelles), between...
No Safe Bets
How Europe Can Survive in an Age of Unreliable Partners
By Joshua Livestro, a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs
"The United...
The EU needs deregulation, not simplification
By Martin Vlachynský, Analyst at the Institute of Economic and Social Studies in Slovakia, 4liberty.eu
It started with curved bananas, continued with cookie banners and lightbulb bans,...
A look ahead at the EU in 2026
2025 was not an uneventful year for Europe. While the war in Ukraine raged on, Donald Trump put the European Union under considerable pressure,...
Democracy or drones – the EU’s security policy dilemma
By Morten Jarlbæk Pedersen
It is neither a secret nor news that Europe's security policy situation has changed both rapidly and drastically over the past...
The EU’s Digital Gulag
The EU’s Digital Gulag (or How to Catch Wild Hogs)
By Seth Hertlein, VP and Global Head of Policy at Ledger.
Good morning.
It is an honor...
EU disagreements persist on how to help Ukraine
As Ukrainian peace talks continue, on Friday, a major legal breach of the EU Treaty occurred. The EU Council of Member States agreed with...
Europe’s Competitiveness Drama
By Elena Leontjeva, President of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute
Competitiveness is a strange beast—always measured against outsiders, yet forged internally. In her annual address,...
Protectionism is far from defeated in Europe
Suddenly, it does not appear so certain any more that the trade deal between the EU and Latin American trade bloc Mercosur - comprising...
A black day for direct democracy in Switzerland
By Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Carl Baudenbacher, former President of the EFTA Court (2003-2017), Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, Baudenbacher Law AG
I.
A...
It is dangerous to change the rules of the game
By Maarten Verheyen, a Belgian investor, entrepreneur, and author of an investment newsletter with more than 60.000 subscribers
It is always extremely dangerous to change...
The battle over the EU’s next multiannual budget heats up
As the end of the year approaches, policy making in Brussels continues in full gear, with the negotiations on the EU's long term budget...
The EU wants to stifle critical voices on social media
By former Dutch diplomat Johannes Vervloed
The EU has devised “chat control” to gain far-reaching authority over social media. And more plans are in the...
The EU’s energy policies threaten our prosperity
By John Dejaeger, former managing director of BASF Antwerp and chairman of Pro Flandria.
The European Union's energy policy threatens to end in disaster. We...
AI, Semiconductors, and the Trap of Zero-Sum Thinking
In the United States, the Trump administration is considering whether to allow US tech company Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 AI chips to...
Putin is betting on a European retreat
By Belgian MEP Johan Van Overtveldt (Belgian Finance Minister between 2014 and 2018, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Budget Committee)
The new peace plan for Ukraine is...
Sudan: “One of the gravest human tragedies of our time.”
By Martin Banks
MEPs and a respected rights group have joined forces in demanding urgent action to stop the “gravest human tragedies of our time."
As Sudan descends...
A bonfire of green EU policies?
On Wednesday 19 November, EU governments agreed to extend the EU’s deforestation directive (EUDR) once again, this time until the end of December 2026,...
