The King of the North Goes South: Andy Burnham Is the New Prime Minister
United Kingdom gets its seventh Prime Minister in ten years as Andy Burnham enters Downing Street to stabilise a weakened Labour Party and confront Reform UK that keeps rising in polls. On 20 July, Andy Burnham went to Buckingham Palace to accept King Charles’ invitation to form a government, making him the United Kingdom’s 59th […]
Ankara-Kyiv-Washington: Ukraine’s Diplomatic Offensive
At a first glance, three developments over the past several days (a NATO summit, a government reshuffle in Kyiv, and the announcement of the Washington’s sanctions package aimed at Russia) are separate stories. Looking at them together, they follow a common theme of an alliance trying to secure more support for Ukraine as the individuals […]
London Calling: Starmer’s Resignation Suggests a New Chapter in the EU-UK Relations
The United Kingdom’s Head of Government, Keir Starmer, announced his resignation on 22 June. Stepping down just two years after an important victory in 2024 parliamentary elections, Starmer leaves the Labour Party to deal with the important domestic issues more decisively and prepare for the 2029 elections as the right-wing Reform UK reaches new heights […]
Armenian Ship Sailing West: Pashinyan’s Pro-EU Party Keeps the Majority
The results of the parliamentary elections in Armenia signal an endorsement of country’s turn away from its traditional security ally, the Russian Federation, and towards integration with the European Union and Western countries. Still, navigating the next chapters will require the new-old government to manage profound domestic and a volatile matrix of competing global powers. […]
The Brussels Effect Explained: How EU Regulations Shape Global Markets
Economic influence and massive tech hubs are a part of what defines a global superpower. But there is a quieter form of power that comes from a different source – in particular, the rulebook. It’s called the Brussels Effect, and it is the reason why the European Union has become a global regulatory power. The […]
Lithuania Restricts Airspace Following Drone Incursion
On 20 May, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence issued a high-level air danger warning after the radar detection of a drone approaching from Belarus. The airspace over Vilnius Airport was closed for approximately an hour and train and public transit networks were suspended. Concurrently, public emergency broadcasts directed residents across the central regions to seek […]
Putting the Cure in Procurement: The Critical Medicines Act
While some see the agreement on the text of the Critical Medicines Act as a victory for patient safety, a deeper analysis shows a complex industrial change that attempts to balance between relatively high costs of European manufacturing and the uncertain security of global supply chains. The political agreement reached in the early hours of […]
Tariffs, Oil and Military Alliances: Geopolitical Heatwave Heralding Hot Summer
The first week of May has delivered several geopolitical shocks that once again show a shift in the global order and rising tensions between the United States and the European Union. On 1 May, the US President Donald Trump announced another escalation in trade policy, stating that the United States will increase tariffs on automobiles […]
The Missing Candidate: How Georgia Fell Out of the “Associated Trio”
Once a country with the fastest-growing democracies in Eastern Europe and grouped with Ukraine and Moldova as the EU’s eastern frontrunners, Georgia has been facing a growing discrepancy towards the EU enlargement policy as the country has been suspended from the track. The key question remains: is this a temporary procedural freeze or a fundamental […]
Europe’s Critical Infrastructure Facing Today’s Energy Demands – Explained
People tend to think of the energy transition as happening in the distant future, and a futuristic image of modern wind turbines and smart homes may come to mind. The reality is that our modern lives right now are supported by a foundation of vintage hardware, to say the least. Much of the critical infrastructure […]