The EU continues to face a backlash for a perceived double standard in its policies in the Middle East, versus its approach to Russia. Even the Vatican has recently criticised the EU for double standards, and it is having real impacts on Europeans’ global role, particularly at the UN.

Paul Adamson @padamson.bsky.social · 4w ago

encompass-europe.com/comment/the-... @thomasmaddock.bsky.social @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social

Sharing my new @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social policy brief on EU-Türkiye relations, just as NATO leaders arrive in Ankara.

Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 4w ago

Relations between the EU and Türkiye have reached a costly stalemate. With Russia threatening Europe’s East, an unreliable US, and a challenging China, the EU-Turkish estrangement is harder to justify. Can both sides move beyond their current approach to relations?

Next week’s NATO summit puts Ankara back in the spotlight. The recent meeting between Turkish FM Hakan Fidan and the EU’s Kaja Kallas shows that both sides are talking again. But the question remains: Can the EU and Türkiye move past 20 years of transactional, low-trust ties ?

Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · last mo.

A new @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social policy brief by @thomasmaddock.bsky.social sets out what steps both sides can take to improve ties. 🇪🇺 🇹🇷 Read here: buff.ly/GSdO3WI

10 years on from the Brexit vote, the UK’s relations with the EU and its place in the world have changed vastly. My colleague @antonspisak.bsky.social, has brought together 15 expert essays on the state of UK-EU relations today. Highly recommend reading. Check out some highlights in his 🧵

Anton Spisak@antonspisak.bsky.social · last mo.

Ten years on from the Brexit referendum, we've published a collection of wonderful essays @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social, reflecting on the past decade, discussing where UK-EU relations stand today, and looking at what comes next. Some of the highlights: www.cer.eu/ten-years-af...

Essential reading on the econ damage done by Brexit. Read this analysis from my colleagues @johnspringford.bsky.social & @antonspisak.bsky.social, 10 years after the referendum. 👇

John Springford@johnspringford.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New research from me and @antonspisak.bsky.social – we identify how much Brexit has reduced goods and services trade with the EU, and what’s responsible: leaving the customs union or the single market? Answers: large hit to trade, mostly due to single market exit 🧵 www.cer.eu/insights/cos...

Europe needs to rapidly improve its deterrence. A new @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social / Hanns Seidel Foundation paper by @armida.bsky.social outlines key steps European governments can take in the next 1-2 years to accelerate rearmament, readiness and deterrence efforts. Read here: buff.ly/rwfLU1S

@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social paper by @sandertordoir.bsky.social & Brad Setser @cfr.org Germany is ground zero of the second #Chinashock, but Berlin is not fighting back, even as the shock erodes the country’s engineering sectors that are vital to its economic security. Read here: buff.ly/2OizisL

🎙️ “Are the goals that the EU is setting out realistic? And what should be prioritized in governance reform objectives?” @thomasmaddock.bsky.social asked @schamseu.bsky.social in the latest @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social podcast, listen here:

Centre for European Reform: Unpacking Europe: How Europe is responding in Lebanon and Palestine

On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s Clara Marina O’Donnell fellow (2025-2026) Thomas Maddock sat down with Zizette Darkazally, Associate Fellow at the Middle East and North Afr...

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🎙️ Listen to our new #CERpodcast ‘Unpacking Europe’ discussing renewed tensions in transatlantic #trade between the EU and the US, @antonspisak.bsky.social spoke with @samuelmarclowe.bsky.social on 5/5/26. Listen here:

Centre for European Reform: CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: Is the EU-US trade deal unravelling?

On this week's Unpacking Europe podcast, CER's senior research fellow Anton Spisak sat down with Sam Lowe, partner at Flint Global and author of the Most Favoured Nation newsletter, to discuss rene...

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New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight: ‘The EU is trying to speak the language of power in #Africa, but what is it saying?’, by @katherinepye.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/7AYrIVt

🎙️Listen to our new #CERpodcast ‘Unpacking Europe’ discussing Hungary's landslide election outcome, @zecsaky.bsky.social spoke with Zsuzsanna Szelényi🎙️ Listen here:

Centre for European Reform: CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: Hungary's landslide election outcome

On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, CER’s senior research fellow Zselyke Csaky sat down with Zsuzsanna Szelényi, director of the Democracy Institute's Leadership Academy, a founding membe...

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What does Orban’s departure mean for #Hungary and for the EU? 🇭🇺 🇪🇺 New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @zecsaky.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/xfjtSOf

New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight: 'Energy shock 2.0: Lessons from 2022 for the #Hormuz crisis', by @elisabettaco.bsky.social and @johnspringford.bsky.social. #energyshock Read here: buff.ly/7gKy4VB

Two of the latest polls, from previously quite accurate pollsters, show a Tisza lead of ~20pp in Hungary. But can the opposition really win? Why is Orban on the backfoot? And what happens after April 12? 🇭🇺Hungary elections thread 🧵

The failure of the #WTO 'reform ministerial' exposed just how hard meaningful reform has become. But it also revealed where the multilateral trade system may be heading next. New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @antonspisak.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/ozfBGS1

US president Donald Trump seems not to have considered what the wider effects of war on #Iran might be, or its winners and losers; Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not care. CER insight by @cerianbond.bsky.social and @thomasmaddock.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/I42gf7q

🎙️ Check out this episode of @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social podcast, where I spoke about EU-Türkiye relations with @senemaydndzgit.bsky.social and @galipdalay.bsky.social from @chmenap.bsky.social. 🌍We discussed defence cooperation, economic ties, and prospects of a more cooperative relationship.

Applications are open for the 13th Clara Marina O’Donnell fellowship, watch here for @thomasmaddock.bsky.social's tips to candidates. Full details here - buff.ly/3vV64SZ Start date: October 2026 for six months Pay: London Living Wage Applications in by: 09/04/26

How much did #Brexit affect immigration to the UK? @jdportes.bsky.social and @johnspringford.bsky.social estimate that it made a modest difference to overall numbers but led to a dramatic shift in origin in a new @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight. Read here: buff.ly/u1TuLFx

Europe has made real progress in protecting its technological base from Chinese takeovers. The risk is that China will now invest in EU countries with weak oversight like Hungary, argue @sandertordoir.bsky.social and @james-r-green.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/JTsL3yP

The EU wants trade to do geopolitics, but the #Mercosur deal is a reminder that signing isn't delivering. New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @antonspisak.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/IESx33T

"The gaps between Paris and Berlin mean Berlin is having to look to other partners," @thomasmaddock.bsky.social, a fellow at the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social in London, told AFP.

That’s a wrap on a great (and chilly) week in DC ! In town as the Clara Marina O’Donnell Fellow, meeting people across think-tanks and policy circles on transatlantic issues and the Middle East. Huge thanks to @brookings.edu Centre on the United States and Europe team for hosting me.

Applications have opened for the Clara Marina O’Donnell Fellowship at @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social As the current Clara fellow, I recommend this chance to contribute to CER’s world-class research while building experience in European foreign affairs. Apply via the link below by 9 April 2026 !

The world has changed since the 2016 #Brexit vote. In response, the UK & EU need to be more willing to change fundamental aspects of their post-Brexit relationship. New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social/ KAS UK & Ireland policy brief by @cerianbond.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/vQRCfrT

#Hungary holds elections in April. The stakes couldn’t be higher – for Budapest, for Brussels, and for democracy itself. Can the opposition win and restore democracy? 🇭🇺 🇪🇺 New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @zecsaky.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/MtJXrKQ

If this fails, there is no immediate plan B, write Stephen Paduano & @sandertordoir.bsky.social in a new @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight. Read here: buff.ly/GM6RkHv

The EU wants a bigger role in resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, but internal splits and damaged credibility hold it back. Ahead of tomorrow's European Council discussions on EU Middle East policy, you can read my thoughts on how the EU can start rebuilding its influence: 👉

Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The EU has leverage over Israel and the Palestinian Authority. But internal divisions and damaged credibility have blunted its leverage. How can the EU fix its broken Israel-Palestine policy? New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social piece by @thomasmaddock.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/eN3ueIG

The French have always believed in tempering #freetrade with industrial policy, the protection of industry and the principle of préférence européenne. 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @cergrant.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/vrFwWbE

#France has a very weak government with an uncertain future, yet it remains a dominant force in EU policy-making. How does one explain this paradox? 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @cergrant.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/vrFwWbE