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Donald J. Biden? How Europe’s Indignation Reveals as Much About Us as About America

Common festivities cancelled, French ambassadors recalled from Washington and Canberra, and an EU-Australia trade deal on ice: France’s righteous wrath is understandable, but only partly justified. Moreover, coming on the heels of the Transatlantic spat over the Afghanistan withdrawal, this latest crisis among allies not only reconfirms the urgent question many Europeans asked themselves after […]

21 September 2021

Tomi Huhtanen

Searching for the EU’s Global Role – State of the Union Speech

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech has become an established news item, resonating across European media. The 2021 speech had a strong focus on recovery and the last remaining steps to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Structurally, her State of the Union speech was very similar to last year’s, starting […]

15 September 2021

Eoin Drea

Housing inflation is the biggest threat of all

European economies are rebounding, annual inflation across the Eurozone is running at 3%. In Europe’s largest economy, Germany, consumer prices are running at multi-year highs of 3.4%. Continued rises in production and import prices point to a broad-based inflationary landscape.  But while economists bicker about whether price rises are “transitionary” or “permanent” a key element of […]

09 September 2021

Anna Nalyvayko

The Crimea Platform and its Chances of Success

The day before Ukraine’s 30th independence anniversary, over 40 international delegations gathered in Kyiv to officially kick off the Crimea Platform, an initiative by President Zelensky to bring Crimea back under Ukrainian sovereignty. The Crimea Platform is a consultative format aimed at stepping up the international response to the occupation of the peninsula, with de-occupation […]

01 September 2021

Maria Spyraki

Reducing Methane Emissions – Time to Act Now

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, warming the planet eighty-six times as much as carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period, before decaying to CO2. While the focus to reduce climate change has rightly been placed on carbon dioxide, methane is the second most important greenhouse gas contributing to the warming experienced to date. It […]

02 July 2021

Stefano Riela

Australia, New Zealand, and China: a Bumpy Ride Towards a Dialogue

Though bound by a strong relationship and a shared history, New Zealand (NZ) and Australia are demonstrating a different approach towards a critical economic partner. Australia and China have recently reached high levels of diplomatic friction. In April 2020 came the casus belli: the Australian Foreign Minister calling for an international investigation into the origins […]

29 June 2021

Theo Larue

France Needs the Centre-Right

Almost exactly 30 years ago, on 19 June 1991, former French President Jacques Chirac (at the time the Leader of the Opposition) delivered a speech decrying the untenability of France’s immigration policies, explaining the importance and urgency of a proper conversation about immigration, lest the situation worsen and benefit extremist political actors. Famously, he described […]

23 June 2021

Eoin Drea

Beware the Unintended Consequences of Europe’s Recovery Fund

Suddenly Brussels has a shiny new eco-system. Europe’s Recovery Fund (ERF) has given rise to a new posse of member states and companies setting out their commitments to greater sustainability and digitalisation. With the European Commission as the ultimate arbiter of where the money flows, Brussels is agog with how the ERF is going to lead Europe’s […]

11 June 2021

Roland Freudenstein

Jonas Nitschke

Armin Laschet’s East German tightrope

When polling stations close next Sunday evening in the East German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the first exit poll results flicker over the screens, one German will be watching with particular attention: Armin Laschet, the embattled German Christian Democrats’ (CDU) candidate for Chancellor. This regional election, the last before all Germans head to the polls […]

03 June 2021

Álvaro de la Cruz

A Tale of Two Cities in Africa

Long ago (35 years), on the First of January 1986, Spain and Portugal joined the European Union – the EEC as it was known back then – thereby completing the integration of Western Europe. With this accession, the 12-membered club reached a significant geographical milestone: being present in continental Africa, thanks to the Spanish cities […]

27 May 2021

Roland Freudenstein

Angelos Chryssogelos

If You Thought Russia Was the Spoiler for Europe’s Illiberals, Wait for China!

It is by now conventional wisdom that the question of relations with Russia is a major obstacle to the unification of the ‘democratic Right’ that Viktor Orbán, Matteo Salvini, and Mateusz Morawiecki like to talk about as of late. Indeed, Russia is one of the main issues making Germany’s AfD, Austria’s FPÖ, and France’s Rassemblement […]

26 May 2021

Álvaro de la Cruz

The centre-right flame burns in Madrid

29 June, 1995; nearly 26 years ago, the conservative party Partido Popular was elected to the government of the Spanish capital region. They have not left the ruling office since. And they will not do so until at least 2023, with the situation seeming like there is still a long way to go before the […]

06 May 2021

Reinhold Lopatka

Strong Subsidiarity, Strong Europe

A strong Europe needs the support of national, regional, and local politicians, as much as strong municipalities in Europe need a strong umbrella like the EU. Unfortunately, the EU’s credibility has been increasingly suffering due to the Euro crisis of the early 2010s, the migration crisis of the mid-2010s, and now the pandemic of the […]

27 April 2021

Gavin Synnott

Walking on Thin Ice: The EU Must Define its Arctic Strategy or Risk Getting Left Out in the Cold

As the loss of sea ice accelerates throughout the Arctic, as a direct result of the global climate emergency, so too does the opportunity for harnessing its potential. Although its fluctuation is well documented, each decade the ice further recedes by an average of 13.1%, making its riches increasingly accessible. According to estimates, the Arctic […]

20 April 2021

Viktória Jančošeková

The Sputnik Shock: Slovakia’s vaccination crisis and its political fallout

“Vaccines, oil, or investments are commodities that are used as tools of influence and power. Those who say that they do not pose any risk deny the obvious reality.” This is how Czech General Petr Pavel commented on the use of the Russian Sputnik vaccine in the EU without its registration. He said this as […]

15 April 2021

Eoin Drea

It’s Recovery or Bust for Europe’s Centre Right

For those who view the pandemic as an event that will change societies and economies permanently, the post-COVID horizon seems limitless. From working patterns to the digital transformation, from increased public spending to greater European integration, Coronavirus is being used as a cypher for sweeping visions of the future.  And while fundamental issues (such as […]

14 April 2021

Hillie van de Streek

Equal political participation of women and men: Subsidiarity is not the solution

As of February 2020, the percentage of female Members of the European Parliament (EP) is 39,5%. This is the highest percentage the EP has reached since its establishment in 1979. For the 2019 European Elections, eleven Member States had legally binding gender quotas regarding the make-up of electoral lists, including sanctions in case of non-compliance. […]

07 April 2021

Anna Nalyvayko

Vaccinating Eastern Europe

In early 2020, the EU was criticised for lagging behind in providing COVID-related support, while China and Russia were delivering medical aid equipment and masks to EU Member States. We still remember the “From Russia with Love” COVID aid operation to Italy in March 2020, or the plane full of medical supplies from China. A […]

30 March 2021

Dimitar Lilkov

App Wars: The EU Must Prepare for the Digital Skirmish

In mid-2020, a lethal clash occurred between Indian and Chinese troops in the border region of Ladakh. Soon after, India opened fire on the digital front by banning dozens of Chinese mobile applications and declaring them harmful to Indian sovereignty and security. In a similar fashion, the US digital hawk brought its gaze on a […]

25 March 2021

Barbara von Ow-Freytag

The Other Russia – Europe’s Best Bet

The EU needs to rethink its Russia policy. Instead of chasing after Vladimir Putin’s confrontational regime, European leaders, who are meeting on 25 March, should throw their support behind those who work for social change and promote democracy in Russia.     Europeans must rid themselves of any expectations or hope for constructive engagement with Putin. The Russian […]

22 March 2021

Mikuláš Dzurinda

After 1 Year, a New Chapter for the Martens Centre

2020’s label will unfortunately be, above all, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has marked the fates of many people, the way of life we used to enjoy, the way in which we communicated and worked, and in fact the entire world. On one hand, it has caused unprecedent fear for human lives, but […]

19 March 2021

Marie-Anne Brouillon

Roland Freudenstein

The Case for a Blue Dragon: Facing China as a Confident Democracy

“The day we stop believing democracy can work is the day we lose it” said Queen Jamilia as the Galactic Republic faced enemies both internal and external during the Clone Wars. Today, democracies face populist and authoritarian challenges both domestically and globally. Among the latter, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is increasingly positioning itself as […]

17 March 2021

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About Martens Centre

Hi, we are the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, the official think tank of the European People’s Party.
Through our work, we inspire ideas for action and shape responses to European challenges.

During testing times for Europe, we believe these challenges deserve the best of our intellectual efforts
and that is why we aim to be a leading and innovative catalyst of centre-right ideas and thinking.

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