Newsletter

In March, the European Commission unveiled its long-awaited White Paper on the Future of European Defence. The Martens Centre held an event with Commissioner Andrius Kubilius to present it and outline the next steps for the European Union and its Member States. Make sure to watch it here!

Despite being a short month, February was a tumultuous one full of significant events at the European and global levels. From the crucial federal elections in Germany to Trump’s latest moves, the political landscape is constantly changing, but what’s at stake for Europe?

In a special edition of Euronews’ ‘The Europe Conversation’, Klaus Welle discusses the future of Europe, tackling issues like the EU dynamics, Ukraine war, migration, social justice, misinformation and US-EU relations. Watch it here. Speaking of the United States, the return of President Trump brings new challenges and global changes.

As we're nearing the end of another eventful year, we are pleased to present to you our last newsletter of 2024, including a summary of all our activities during December. This month, we held our annual flagship event, the European Ideas Forum which took place in Brussels under the title “Europe’s Future in Focus”.

November was all about the confirmation of the new European Commission and the US elections! Don't miss the Chairman of the Martens Centre Academic Council, Klaus Welle, commenting on these topics for Euractiv & Euronews and read our latest blogs analysing what MAGA means for Europe. 

October was marked by crucial elections in Georgia and Moldova which showed the tough road ahead when it comes to EU enlargement. Head to our website to follow our experts' commentary on the topic and make sure to read the latest op-ed by our President Mikuláš Dzurinda, exploring the path to peace in Ukraine.  Don't miss our Executive Director, Tomi Huhtanen during Euronews’ TV talk show 'Brussels my Love?' [...]

September marked the start of a busy period after the summer recess which was dominated by political shifts, changes and the unveiling of the new European Commission portfolios. Our Policy Director Peter Hefele analysed in his latest piece for Euractiv what the East German elections mean for the future of democracy in the country[..]

With European elections and the race for the EU’s top jobs being the main highlights of this month, we are bringing you all the latest in this special post-election edition of our monthly newsletter. Make sure to read the interview by our President Mikuláš Dzurinda on the outcome of the elections and watch our interventions during Euronews European Elections night special.

Societal shifts and demographic changes pose another challenge for Europe and the future of the Union’s economic strength and social security. In May, we published the latest edition of our European View delving into the complexities of Europe’s demographic landscape. Read it here and check out the brand-new episode of our European View podcast with Steven Van Hecke analysing the [...]

April was all about our 7Ds for Sustainability project! Building on our efforts to contribute to future-proofing EU policy in various areas, this month we published our 7Ds In Depth focusing on debt, decarbonisation, defence, democracy, demography, de-risking globalisation, and digitalisation. Head to our website to read all 7 papers here!

In March, the European People’s Party Congress took place in Bucharest! The Martens Centre was part of the action with numerous panel discussions and sideline interviews featuring centre-right policymakers, experts, and private sector actors! In other news: This month we also published our '7Ds for Sustainability - Defence in Depth’ which brings together [...]

February brought the inaugural edition of the Global Synergy Conference! Featuring a global line-up of panelists from Asia to Latin America, the event was a truly global conversation about to how to unlock more sustainable realities. Head to our website to re-watch your favourite panels! In other news: Don't miss our Executive Director, Tomi Huhtanen [...]

2024 marks the start of a year full of electoral battles being contested the world over, bringing shifts and changes. In the meantime, many other challenges stand ahead of us. Been wondering about Europe's role in the new demographic reality? In a blog post for the Martens Centre, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, explains [...]

As we're nearing the end of an eventful 2023, we are pleased to present to you our last newsletter of the year, including a summary of all our activities for the month of December. Be sure to check the latest op-ed by our Senior Research Officer Eoin Drea for the Irish Times, and don’t miss the brand new episodes of our Thinking Talks, Bridge the Channel and HER AND EU series [...]

Another eventful month came to an end, and it was all about geopolitics, from the EU’s unity in supporting Ukraine to the Union’s role in the Middle East war. Our President Mikuláš Dzurinda penned an op-ed for EUObserver explaining why Robert Fico’s Ukraine gamble spells trouble for Slovakia and the EU [...]

October brought the 14th edition of the European Ideas Forum! Featuring a live, participating audience, EIF took place in Brussels under the title “Laying Foundations for Europe's Future”. Over two days of content rich panel discussions, dynamic policy debates, interviews with sponsors and high-level remarks by Mikuláš Dzurinda, Manfred Weber, Ursula von der Leyen [...] 

September is always marked by a back-to-school buzz, the annual State of the Union address and… plenty of news on the agenda! This month we organised an event on European policy towards Northern Africa while we also published a report examining the expectations and fears of Europe’s middle classes concerning the EU’s key challenges. 

As we bid farewell to the first half of another eventful year, we are slowly easing into our brief summer break! Before heading into the holidays though, we made sure to share with you the very first episode of The 7Debates, a brand-new interview series exploring [...]

June was yet another month marked by developments in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; this time with a special focus on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived rebellion and on the EU’s adoption of the 11th package of sanctions against the country. But what is the impact of sanctions on Russia’s [...]

Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, discussions regarding the war’s impact on global energy markets have been high on the agenda. In May, we held an event focusing on the case of Moldova and the country’s efforts to reduce its energy dependencies on Russia. Watch it [...]

Finnish elections, President Biden’s recent trip to Ireland and tensions in EU-China relations were few of this month’s highlights, sparking discussions in Brussels and around the world. Our Executive Director, Tomi Huhtanen discussed Finland’s parliamentary elections in an interview for Deutsche Welle [...]