Europe wants securitisation to unlock lending, spread risk and push more private money into the economy. But the CEPS commentary warns that Brussels may be staring at a basic market failure of its own making: it is still talking too much about banks and not enough about the investors who actually have to buy the risk

Germany is being warned that its China policy is drifting into danger. The National Interest commentary argues that Berlin is clinging to Beijing as a business lifeline just as the United States and several EU partners are hardening their line against Chinese trade abuses.

The global aid system is in deep trouble – and Europe is right in the middle of the mess. This CIDOB paper argues that development cooperation is facing not just a budget squeeze, but a governance crisis that exposes how badly the old Western-led model fits today’s world.

Europe is once again facing an energy shock driven by events beyond its borders. As war in the Middle East pushes up oil and gas prices, governments are scrambling to protect households and industry from another surge in costs. But the CER assessment highlights an uncomfortable reality: Europe’s room for manoeuvre is far smaller than it was during previous crises.

One of Europe’s greatest achievements is increasingly being treated as a security problem. Across the Schengen area, governments are reintroducing temporary border controls in response to migration pressures, security concerns and political demands. The Stratfor analysis warns that these measures may look temporary, but their economic consequences could become much harder to reverse.

The analysis takes stock of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s first hundred days and finds a government eager to signal strength but constrained by the same limits that trapped its predecessors. Rhetoric has sharpened, priorities look clearer, and ambition is back in Berlin. The problem is delivery.

The commentary dissects Emmanuel Macron’s latest defence spending commitments and finds a familiar French pattern – bold announcements masking hard questions left unanswered. Paris talks about resolve, leadership and strategic autonomy. The paper argues that behind the headline figures sit delivery risks, budget trade-offs and capability gaps that money alone will not fix.