European integration and EU institutions
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Europe’s Drone Moment: Turning Civilian Strength into Strategic Defence Advantage
Russia’s war against Ukraine, the constant probing of Europe’s airspace and borders, and the vulnerability of our critical infrastructure have made one thing crystal clear: drones are now a central feature of modern security. From the Black Sea to the Baltic and the Gulf region, cheap unmanned systems have challenged traditional military technology and exposed…
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Europe, Don’t Be a Scaredy-Cat!
Get onto your feet – now! While the tectonic plates below our feet keep shifting, and the global order keeps eroding, Europeans are still punching below their weight. The recent concerted push-back against Trump’s coercive plans for a US-annexation of Greenland illustrate how much Europe can gain from standing up to a bully. Here is
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Thinking beyond old silos!
Europeans and Canada need to be bolder and braver in charting out options for their future security. Feeling like Cassandra can be unsettling. In early 2025 I wrote the below as part of a broader policy paper on the future of NATO. With Trump now threatening to annex Greenland, thereby putting NATO’s future in further
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Ukraine’s Road to EU Membership
TVP World, the Polish Public TV English language channel, has a new format: „Wider View From Brussels“. Here’s my take, of 2 days ago, on Ukraine’s road to EU membership, the geopolitical, political and economic implications, comparisons with the 2004 big bang enlargement, and the eminent question of how to overcome the fatal Hungarian vetoes
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The Cost of Failure
A Russian victory in Ukraine would reshape Europe In these days of hectic diplomacy around a ‘peace deal’ in Ukraine, it’s easy to lose sight of the long term and the big picture. There is a real possibility of a botched deal that leaves Ukraine weakened, Vladimir Putin triumphant, Europe in disarray and America withdrawn.
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Die Zukunft – eine neue Welt(un)ordnung
Mark Twain wird das Bonmot zugeschrieben „Prognosen sind schwierig, vor allem wenn sie die Zukunft betreffen“. Wie Mark Twain habe ich natürlich auch keine Kristallkugel, aus der ich die Zukunft lesen kann. Grundsätzlich halte ich es mit Perikles: „Es kommt nicht darauf an, die Zukunft vorauszusagen, sondern darauf, auf die Zukunft vorbereitet zu sein.“ Um
Roland Freudenstein
On ‚EU strategic autonomy‘ and all that: An irreverent appeal for Europe to grow up.
GLOBSEC
Roland Freudenstein
Reflections on ‘Great Power Rivalry: How Can the EU & UK Survive?’ on Tim Beyer Helm’s World Wide Wednesday on 25 July 2023
Liverpool World Wide Wednesday