NEW #FutureShapeofEurope The Art of the Package Deal In its enlargement policy reviews, the European Commission has brought up a number of well-known reform options, writes @linnselle.bsky.social However, it has failed to suggest a way to overcome opposition. ip-quarterly.com/en/art-packa...

In the light of the Franco-German paper (which @noahbarkin.bsky.social reported first), our @ipq.bsky.social Fall 2026 issue is turning out timely indeed ip-quarterly.com/en/ipq-fall-...

Noah Barkin@noahbarkin.bsky.social · 6d ago

A major moment for Europe on China today in the form of a Franco-German paper, signed by Merz and Macron, which calls on the Commission to take a much more robust approach. The real test will come when Beijing responds later this year. www.wsj.com/world/europe...

From our new issue How China Could Strike Back Beijing’s export controls on rare earths are never truly cancelled, only delayed, warns @noahjgordon.bsky.social They could undermine the EU’s plans to push back against “China Shock 2.0.” ip-quarterly.com/en/how-china...

NEW‼️ Middle Road to Nowhere? After Mark Carney’s call for an “alliance of middle powers,” cooperation has indeed increased, but not quite in the way the Canadian prime minister intended, writes Sophie Eisentraut @munsecconf.bsky.social ip-quarterly.com/en/middle-ro...

“Beggars can’t be choosers, but why should Berlin nonetheless trust a Le Pen France more on Russia than a Trumpian United States?” @josephdeweck.bsky.social on why Germany shouldn’t derisk from France ip-quarterly.com/en/why-germa...

From our new issue Germany’s New China Policy: Right Instinct, Wrong Tools The 🇩🇪 government finally wants to protect European industry from 🇨🇳 overcapacity. However, it is relying on the wrong measures to do so, says Tim Rühlig @ruehlig.bsky.social ip-quarterly.com/en/germanys-...

From our new issue: The EU and China: An Inevitable Showdown Chinese trade policies and subsidies are destroying the EU’s industrial base, argue @ajwsmall.bsky.social and @jankaoertel.bsky.social This fall, the Europeans need to respond. ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-and-ch...

‼️OUT NOW‼️ IPQ Fall 2026 Issue The Looming Confrontation: 🇪🇺 vs. 🇨🇳 @jankaoertel.bsky.social @ajwsmall.bsky.social @noahjgordon.bsky.social @henninghoff.bsky.social @rebeccawire.bsky.social @josephdeweck.bsky.social @aylinmatle.bsky.social et al. Whole issue here⬇️ ip-quarterly.com/en/ipq-fall-...

‼️Out next week‼️ The Looming Confrontation: EU vs. China w/ contributions by @jankaoertel.bsky.social @ajwsmall.bsky.social Tim Rühlig @noahjgordon.bsky.social @henninghoff.bsky.social @josephdeweck.bsky.social @rebeccawire.bsky.social @aylinmatle.bsky.social J.C. Ellis et al. Stay tuned!

‼️Out next week‼️ The Looming Confrontation: EU vs. China w/ contributions by @jankaoertel.bsky.social @ajwsmall.bsky.social Tim Rühlig @noahjgordon.bsky.social @henninghoff.bsky.social @josephdeweck.bsky.social @rebeccawire.bsky.social @aylinmatle.bsky.social J.C. Ellis et al. Stay tuned!

"As opposition leader, Merz could have struck a deal with the Scholz government on debt-financed rearmament, but he preferred to wait ‘until I’m chancellor.‘ This lack of statesmanship is continuing to haunt him." New #BerlinCable by @henninghoff.bsky.social ip-quarterly.com/en/afd-wins-...

The AfD Wins Again, but Merz Clings On

Germany’s far right has had another strong showing in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with the chancellor’s CDU failing to enter the parliament. Without a challenger ready to pounce, however, Merz is l...

ip-quarterly.com

NEW ‼️🇫🇷🇬🇧 Washington's war against Iran is negatively affecting Europe more and more. It's time for the Europeans to play a bigger role and help forcing Tehran to negotiate, argues @edwardpjoseph.bsky.social A Franco-British navel mission would be a game-changer. ip-quarterly.com/en/how-europ...

How Europe Can Turn the Tide in Iran

Deploying a Franco-British “fleet-in-being” to the Strait of Hormuz would be the best way to persuade Tehran to negotiate.

ip-quarterly.com

‼️NEW in our "Future Shape of Europe" series🇪🇺🇨🇦 An "associate EU membership," you say, Madame Commission President? Claudia Schmucker and @linnselle.bsky.social analyze what's behind Ursula von der Leyen's offer to Canada. The case for closer cooperation is there. ip-quarterly.com/en/canadas-a...

Canada’s “Associate EU Membership”: What’s in a Name?

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has offered Canada an “associate EU membership.” While the precise meaning is elusive, there is great potential for closer cooperation.

ip-quarterly.com

As the EU Arctic Summit gets under way in Rovaniemi, Finland, with inter alia German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in attendance, check out this recent article by Andreas Raspotnik and colleagues ⬇️ ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-first-...

The EU First Needs an Arctic Map, Then a Real Arctic Strategy

Brussels should not regard the European Arctic as a remote frontier to be managed from afar, but as the one part of “geopolitical Europe” where the EU actually has the resources to match its ambitions...

ip-quarterly.com

For what is likely to happen next in German politics check out my latest #BerlinCable ip-quarterly.com/en/shock-sys...

A Shock to the System

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has won big in the small federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, but not big enough for an outright majority. Still, the result may well trigger changes at the ...

ip-quarterly.com

NEW in our #FutureShapeofEurope series 🇪🇺 @milanninberlin.bsky.social is sketching out what is and what isn't on the EU enlargement agenda in the coming weeks, and what's at stake. ip-quarterly.com/en/narrow-wi...

A Narrow Window of Opportunity

The coming weeks will be crucial when it comes to setting the EU on a sustained enlargement path.

ip-quarterly.com

New #BerlinCable The far-right Alternative für Deutschland has won big in the small federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, but not big enough for an outright majority, writes @henninghoff.bsky.social Still, the result may well strongly affect Merz' government. ip-quarterly.com/en/shock-sys...

A Shock to the System

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has won big in the small federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, but not big enough for an outright majority. Still, the result may well trigger changes at the ...

ip-quarterly.com

New #BerlinCable The far-right Alternative für Deutschland has won big in the small federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, but not big enough for an outright majority, writes @henninghoff.bsky.social Still, the result may well strongly affect Merz' government. ip-quarterly.com/en/shock-sys...

A Shock to the System

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has won big in the small federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, but not big enough for an outright majority. Still, the result may well trigger changes at the ...

ip-quarterly.com

NEW 🇷🇺🕵️💣 Putin's Latest Weapon against Europe As the German government officially blames Russia for the recent Leipzig airport drone attack, read Mark Galeotti on the increasingly close ties between (organized) crime and Russian intelligence. ip-quarterly.com/en/russian-m...

The Russian Mafia: Putin’s Latest Weapon against Europe

The Russian president is waging war against the West, and organized crime networks are becoming an ever more important tool in this conflict. Indeed, it is increasingly difficult to tell the security ...

ip-quarterly.com

New #FutureShapeofEurope post ‼️🇪🇺🇮🇸 @stevenblockmans.bsky.social on Iceland's "no" to resuming accession negotiations with the EU: A chance to reenergize the enlargement and reform process has been missed, he argues. ip-quarterly.com/en/icelands-...

Iceland’s Voters Give the EU the Cold Shoulder

The narrow rejection of the resumption of accession negotiations between Iceland and the EU hits Brussels at a bad moment. A chance for reenergizing the enlargement and reform process has been missed.

ip-quarterly.com

NEW‼️🇺🇸 With the #midterms tilting in the @democrats.org favor, there's a chance that the US Congress will once again act as a stronger counterweight to Donald Trump’s presidency, writes @psparding.bsky.social It may even have an impact on US foreign policy, too. ip-quarterly.com/en/will-us-c...

Will the US Congress Reassert Its Powers?

With the midterms tilting in the Democrats’ favor, there is a chance that Congress will once again act as a stronger counterweight to Donald Trump’s presidency.

ip-quarterly.com

As Trump’s approval reaches historic lows, The New Yorker’s Washington correspondent @sbg1.bsky.social examines the real and symbolic stakes of November’s midterm elections. Read more here: ip-quarterly.com/en/biggest-q...

“The Biggest Question Is: Will the Long-Term Trends in America Continue?”

Given US President Donald Trump’s historic unpopularity, the mystery is why the Democrats are not poised to win even bigger in the upcoming midterm elections, The New Yorker’s Washington correspondent...

ip-quarterly.com

“What Germany needs now is a Zeitenwende in our Africa policy,” writes Thomas Matussek. For Berlin, remaining a relevant actor beyond Europe necessitates more than stability; it requires actionable, ambitious foreign policy. Read more here: ip-quarterly.com/en/op-ed-ger...

Op-Ed: Germany’s Strategy Gap Runs Through Africa

Berlin has become versed in writing strategy papers, but less so in turning them into action. Reaching out to African countries in a meaningful way is a test case of whether Germany’s new foreign poli...

ip-quarterly.com

“Avoiding geography does not stop the EU from making geopolitical claims, it just obscures them,” write Andreas Raspotnik, Adam Stępień, and Andreas Østhagen. What should the future of EU Arctic strategy look like? Read more here: ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-first-...

The EU First Needs an Arctic Map, Then a Real Arctic Strategy

Brussels should not regard the European Arctic as a remote frontier to be managed from afar, but as the one part of “geopolitical Europe” where the EU actually has the resources to match its ambitions...

ip-quarterly.com

@henninghoff.bsky.social (in #BerlinCable) writes of the “deepest crisis in the CDU’s 81-year history” which leads it to contemplate a "chancellor switch". Read about what this means ahead of September’s state elections here: ip-quarterly.com/en/troubled-...

A Troubled Merz Faces Crucial Elections in September

An amateurish government reshuffle has gone badly wrong for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. With the far-right AfD likely surging in regional elections, the end of his chancellorship may come more q...

ip-quarterly.com

NEW: @pmklose.bsky.social  and @ignacio-molina.bsky.social write of the Ceuta crisis and the myopic response from EU member states. “Any form of European collective defense will have been called into question.” ip-quarterly.com/en/ceuta-cri...

In the Ceuta Crisis, Both Spain and the EU Need to Do Better

Spain’s EU partners have failed the country in an acute crisis. It is now up to Madrid and Brussels to take concrete steps to make Europe’s southern flank more secure.

ip-quarterly.com

Why is India buying a submarine that has never been built? Gaurav Kumar explores the strategic incentive and historical circumstances surrounding India’s historic defense contract with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. ip-quarterly.com/en/german-in...

The German-Indian Submarine Deal: From Cooperation to Collaboration?

New Delhi is about to decide whether to greenlight the P75I submarine program, built together with Germany’s TKMS. For India, it’s a strategic decision.

ip-quarterly.com

For Europe, immigration is no longer a political preference; it is a demographic necessity. With an aging populaition, Europe’s future is dependent on its posture towards this imminent reality. Hans-Jürgen Jakobs writes about the paradigm shift this crisis requires: ip-quarterly.com/en/migration...

Migration That Pays Off

Facts rather than ideology, reasoned analysis rather than escalatory rhetoric—Europe needs a new paradigm for its immigration policy.

ip-quarterly.com

NEW from our German Leadership in Europe series: a "Germany that can balance deterrence and diplomacy is the key ingredient to a stable balance of power on the European continent” @emmamashford.bsky.social writes. Read more about Germany as Europe’s lynchpin here: ip-quarterly.com/en/lynchpin-...

The Lynchpin for the European Continent

As Berlin sees its role as a middle power grow, it is both constrained and bolstered by being embedded within the European Union.

ip-quarterly.com

From our new issue: Piotr Buras explores a contentious past and unknown future for Polish-Ukrainian relations. #WarsawMemo ip-quarterly.com/en/polish-uk...