The analysis tears into the EU’s handling of trade policy and finds a familiar pattern of overconfidence followed by underdelivery. Faced with a tougher global trade environment, Brussels talked up strategic autonomy and defensive tools. What it delivered instead was delay, confusion and diluted action. The piece argues that Europe did not just struggle to respond – it actively mishandled the moment.

The analysis takes stock of Europe’s position one hundred days into Donald Trump’s return to the White House and finds a Union talking geopolitics while bracing for turbulence it cannot control. The EU wants to act like a strategic power, but Trump’s early moves expose how thin that ambition still is. The piece argues that Europe is navigating the storm with limited instruments, fragile unity and heavy dependence on decisions made in Washington.

The analysis delivers a blunt assessment of Europe’s China policy and finds a continent stuck in the middle with shrinking room to manoeuvre. Brussels talks about de-risking, resilience and strategic realism. In practice, Europe remains deeply entangled with China economically while lacking the power or unity to shape the relationship on its own terms. The paper argues that Europe is trying to manage a rivalry it did not choose, with tools that are not strong enough.

The commentary delivers a stark wake-up call to Europe after Donald Trump’s military strike and capture of Venezuela’s president. What should have been a distant regional event has immediate geopolitical recoil for the EU. The piece argues that Europe’s policymakers face a harsher world order where the US prioritises its own strategic agenda, ignores international norms and uses force with growing ease.

The analysis takes aim at Europe’s growing unease with its own democratic model and asks an uncomfortable question – is the EU trying to protect democracy, or quietly reinvent it to survive political stress. The piece argues that Europe is no longer confident that existing democratic rules can cope with polarisation, populism and external pressure. The response is not renewal through trust, but tighter control through redesign.

The study digs into what Friedrich Merz’s rise means once the ballots are counted and the slogans fade. The message is sobering – Germany’s shift does not automatically translate into clearer European leadership. Instead, it risks injecting new friction into an EU system already struggling to decide, pay and deliver. The paper argues that Berlin’s internal reset could complicate Europe’s policymaking just when speed and coherence matter most.

The analysis lays out a stark scenario Europe has spent years hoping to avoid. A second Trump presidency would not just test transatlantic ties – it would rip away Europe’s remaining illusions about security, economics and self-reliance. The piece argues that Europe is dangerously underprepared for a United States that demands payment, loyalty and results, not gratitude or shared values.