🚨 Is Ceuta the first real test of the EU's new migration rules? In our new Flash Analysis, @helhahn.bsky.social examines what the events in Ceuta reveal about the implementation of the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum — & the political debates already surrounding it. 🔗 www.epc.eu/publication/...

The EU’s response to Ceuta: the first stress test after the Pact reforms?

The Ceuta incident not only underscores that the EU cannot afford internal divisions and tensions over migration. As a first stress test following the Pact reforms, it highlights the need for further investments into implementation and doubling down on achieving greater CEAS resilience.

epc.eu

Good migration policy starts with a healthy debate. At @maastrichtunibxl.bsky.social, we brought together researchers from @maastrichtu.bsky.social with policy actors from the EU institutions and member states to discuss. Alberto Horst from @epc-official.bsky.social elaborates

❄️ The Arctic is becoming central to Europe's security. In a new EPC Policy Brief, Maria Martisiute, Linda Solstrand Dahlberg & Tobias Etzold argue that the EU needs a more strategic approach to the Arctic as security, climate and great power competition converge. Read 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

From sea to space: How the EU can turn the tide on the Arctic

The EU will issue a new Arctic strategy in autumn 2026, a few months after Germany warned, again, that Russia could attack NATO territory before 2029 – an assessment broadly shared across NATO and the EU. That attack could come in the Arctic or the Baltic Sea region, or in both simultaneously. Both already face infrastructure sabotage, aerial and maritime incursions, and cyberattacks – exposing vulnerabilities across Europe’s northern flank.

epc.eu

⚖️ Facts matter more than ever. In a new EPC To the Point, Fabian Zuleeg argues that today's geopolitical conflicts are increasingly fought over competing versions of reality — and that the world needs an independent body to assess contested facts. Read more here 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Facts matter more than ever

Today's geopolitical conflicts are fought not only with missiles, sanctions and tariffs but also through competing versions of reality. The battle is no longer simply over how facts should be interpreted. Increasingly, it is over whether facts exist at all.

epc.eu

🌍 Can the EU expect others to meet green standards it does not consistently enforce itself? In our new Commentary, @michelegalli.bsky.social argues the EU must move from pledge diplomacy to delivery-based multilateralism to strengthen its global credibility. Read more 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Does the EU enforce the green standards it exports?

The EU sets high green standards but too often fails to enforce them — weakening them under pressure and leaving them unenforceable beyond its borders. Its multilateral credibility depends on closing that gap.

epc.eu

📅 Save the date! On 2 December, the EPC launches the EPC Outlook Forum — a new annual event exploring the strategic risks and defining choices shaping Europe's future. This year's theme is Democracy under pressure: Navigating Europe's defining choices for 2027. More information will follow soon.

📅 Save the date! On 2 December, the EPC launches the EPC Outlook Forum — a new annual event exploring the strategic risks and defining choices shaping Europe's future. This year's theme is Democracy under pressure: Navigating Europe's defining choices for 2027. More information will follow soon.

For additional context on how Europe can leverage moments of Russian vulnerability, you may also find our recent @epc-official.bsky.social analysis relevant: Europe must seize the moment to change Putin’s calculus. www.epc.eu/publication/...

Europe must seize the moment to change Putin's calculus

As Ukrainian strikes expose growing vulnerabilities deep inside Russia, Europe should ramp up its support for Ukraine to create the conditions under which Putin concludes he cannot win militarily in Ukraine, and that a  negotiated settlement is preferable to a prolonged conflict.

epc.eu

euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 2w ago

Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy team may feel nervous about briefing the boss this week. Among recent bad news, the Chinese Communist Party has delivered a double snub to the Kremlin, writes Edward Lucas.

What does Marine Le Pen's political revival mean for France's liberal democrats—and for Europe? Our EPC analysis takes a closer look: www.epc.eu/publication/...

Euronews@euronews.com · 3w ago

In a post on X on Wednesday, Elon Musk backed Marine Le Pen ahead of France’s presidential vote, prompting claims of foreign interference and electoral risk. #EuropeNews ➡️ https://l.euronews.com/1A9z

📢 We're hiring two Events Assistants! Join the EPC's Communications & Events Team and help deliver high-level policy events while gaining hands-on experience in one of Brussels' leading think tanks. Apply by 26 July (22:00 CET) 👇 www.epc.eu/vacancies/ev...

🔍 Go beyond the headlines with the EPC's Annotated NATO Summit Declaration. Paul Taylor explains what NATO leaders agreed, what they left unsaid, and what the Ankara Declaration really means for the Alliance, Ukraine and European security. Read more 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Annotated 2026 NATO Summit Declaration

In this annotated version of NATO’s Ankara Declaration, EPC Senior Visiting Fellow Paul Taylor reads between the lines of the official summit text and explains what NATO leaders said, what they didn’t say, and what they meant.

epc.eu

🇫🇷 Marine Le Pen is back in the 2027 presidential race. What does her candidacy mean for France & the EU? Our latest Flash Analysis by Eric Maurice examines the political implications of Le Pen's return & the challenge it poses to France's liberal democrats. Read more 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Le Pen’s “rebirth” is a challenge for France’s liberal democrats

Seen from an EU perspective, this latest twist raises two questions: Can Le Pen win the election and become the president of the EU’s second-biggest member state? What should the EU expect in the coming months?

epc.eu

📘 Can mutual recognition make EU returns more effective? In the second EPC– @studioeuropa.bsky.social Policy Brief, Virginie Jacob assesses whether mandatory mutual recognition can solve EU migration challenges or if broader reforms are needed. Read the full Brief 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

🇷🇸 Does reversing a controversial law amount to genuine reform? Our latest Commentary by Berta López Domènech argues that the EU should not mistake Serbia's reversal of the Mrdić laws for lasting progress on the rule of law or democratic reform. Read the Commentary 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Serbia’s Mrdić law reversal: tactical compliance is not EU reform

But the EU is mistaking tactical compliance for genuine reform, exposing once again the structural weakness in managing conditionality in the Western Balkans.

epc.eu

New from the @epc-official.bsky.social: #NATOsummit in Ankara: Priorities and Expectations in 2026. Our latest compendium brings together expert analysis on the strategic priorities, key challenges, and policy debates shaping NATO's future ahead of the Summit.

📘 Together with @studioeuropa.bsky.social, we've published the first Policy Brief in our joint collection on EU migration policy. How can soft enforcement help ensure the effective implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum? Read the full Policy Brief here 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Mutual Recognition of Return Decisions: Quick Fix or Structural Challenge?

On 1 June 2026, the European Parliament and Council reached an agreement on the Regulation establishing a new Common European System for Returns (Legislative Proposal 2025/0059(COD)). The reform is intended to address what is widely perceived as one of the most persistent weaknesses of EU migration policy: the limited effectiveness of return policy. Return procedures remain fragmented, unevenly implemented, and difficult to measure. In the period 2020- 2024, only between 16% and 24% of non-EU nationals issued with an order to leave effectively returned to a third country.

epc.eu

The🇮🇪Presidency is leading 🇪🇺 to help patients get the right medication @the right time & the right place. Speakers, led by EPC’s Elizabeth Kuiper, call for more, better & faster clinical trials, reimbursement decisions, and fewer cross-border hurdles for medicines to reach the people who need them.

With @epc-official.bsky.social, we're launching a Policy Brief Collection on EU Migration Policy. First: Strengthening the Implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum through Soft Enforcement. Read and download the brief here: umlib.nl/mup.sem.c2-0...

🇪🇺🇨🇳 As the EU and China seek to strengthen dialogue through the new Trade and Investment Consultations, our latest Compendium explores what it will take to manage one of the world's most consequential relationships. Read the Compendium here 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

EU–China relations at a crossroads, Vol. V: The geometry of coexistence

The fifth volume of this compendium series brings to a close the second phase of the EU-funded EU & China Think Tank Exchanges project, launched in 2020. Since then, the geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically. The COVID-19 pandemic, tit-for-tat sanctions, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, mounting trade tensions, conflict in the Middle East and rapid advances in artificial intelligence have all reshaped the context in which Europe and China engage. Through these changes, EU–China relations have remained among the world’s most consequential bilateral relationships, marked by periods of engagement and friction but arguably shaped more often by tension than rapprochement.

epc.eu

🌎 Can green partnerships become a strategic win for both Europe and Latin America? Eszter Szedlacsek argues green partnerships must shift from announcements to implementation in a new EPC Commentary. Read here 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

⏰ Last chance to apply! We're hiring an Events Executive to help deliver conferences, roundtables, hybrid events, speaker logistics, procurement and event coordination in a fast-paced think tank environment. 📅 Applications close 24 June, 23:59 CET Apply 👇 www.epc.eu/vacancies/ev...

🇪🇺 Defence financing in the EU: Needs, ambitions and progress By Philip Lausberg – @epc-official.bsky.social www.epc.eu/publication/...

Defence financing in the EU: Needs, ambitions and progress

The Council's agreement last week on the AGILE mandate – opening trilogue on a €115 million programme designed to get disruptive defence innovations from lab to deployment in weeks rather than years - puts a sharp spotlight on the questions: is Europe actually financing its defence the right way?

epc.eu

⌛ Will the next sixty days determine the Gulf’s future? The US–Iran MoU offers a pause, not peace. In a new EPC Round-Up, Amanda Paul, Paul Taylor, Chris Kremidas-Courtney and Mihai Sebastian Chihaia assess what comes next. Read the full expert takes 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Sixty Days to Shape the Gulf’s Future

The US–Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) offers a pause, not peace. Our experts warn that the next 60 days will decide whether this fragile ceasefire becomes a settlement or slips back into conflict. With nuclear, sanctions, and proxy issues unresolved, Europe faces a risky yet strategic opening to reassert its influence in the Gulf and protect vital energy corridors.

epc.eu

🔵 What should we expect from the NATO Summit in Ankara? Ahead of next month's Summit, EPC experts and leading external contributors examine NATO's priorities, strategic challenges and future direction. Read the full Compendium 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Countdown to the NATO Summit in Ankara: priorities and expectations in 2026

Ahead of the fourth NATO Summit in Ankara next month, the European Policy Centre (EPC) brings together a collection of analyses on the alliance’s priorities, expectations and strategic challenges at a decisive moment for Euro-Atlantic security.

epc.eu

In Brussels this week taking part in a two-day @epc-official.bsky.social meeting with fellow European think tank directors. We are examining the growing influence of the radical right and its ecosystems, and exploring ways to strengthen efforts to defend democracy.

🚗 Can Europe’s automotive sector help strengthen its defence industrial base? In this week’s EPC podcast, Paul Taylor speaks with Fuensanta Martinez Sans and Olaf Pannenbaecker about how car and truck makers could help address Europe’s defence gaps. Listen here 👇 www.epc.eu/podcast/the-...

📃 Can the New Pact on Migration and Asylum work from day one? As the rules start applying on 12 June, a new EPC Commentary argues that the Pact is not a switch that can simply be flipped – & that October 2026 may be the real stress test. 🔗 www.epc.eu/publication/...

12 June: The New Pact’s day-one illusion?

This circumstance, however, should not be a surprise. The reforms are complex, interdependent and being applied across asylum and reception systems facing different pre-Pact dynamics and pressures.

epc.eu

🔴 Europe is facing a China shock of historic proportions. In a new EPC To the Point, Georg Riekeles argues that Chinese overcapacity is putting key European industries under strain – from steel and batteries to EVs, chemicals and machinery. Read the full To the Point 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

China is hollowing us out. Europe needs to fight back.

Europe is facing a China shock of historic proportions. European assessments identify 400 to 800 product categories exposed to Chinese overcapacity pressure: Steel, batteries, solar panels, electric vehicles, chemicals and machinery are all under strain. More sectors will follow.

epc.eu

🇦🇲 Armenia votes West, but cannot quit Russia. In a new EPC Flash Analysis, Amanda Paul argues that Nikol Pashinyan’s election victory is a setback for Moscow – but not a clean break. Read the full Flash Analysis 👇 www.epc.eu/publication/...

Armenia votes West, but cannot quit Russia

On 7 June 2026, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won just under 50% of the vote in Armenia’s parliamentary elections. While this gives Pashinyan a parliamentary majority, it falls short of the constitutional majority needed to call a referendum on amending the constitution, including removing references that Azerbaijan says imply territorial claims to Nagorno-Karabakh — Azerbaijan's condition for signing a peace treaty.

epc.eu

📢 We are hiring! The EPC is looking for an Events Executive to help deliver high-quality in-person, online and hybrid events in a fast-paced policy think tank environment. Deadline: 22 June Apply here 👇 www.epc.eu/vacancies/ev...