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The Strategic Relevance of a European Perspective for Belarus and the EU

The aim of this conference is to identify the current and foreseeable interests of the EU towards Belarus; to work out a clear narrative and convincing messaging on the European character of Belarus and the strategic relevance of its ”European Perspective” as a credible and attractive geopolitical alternative; to identify key fields in which pro-democratic […]

Niccolò Mazzocchetti

Niccolò Mazzocchetti joined the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies team in September 2023. Prior to this, he served as the EU Public Affairs Officer at I-Com, the Institute for Competitiveness, a think-tank based in Rome and Brussels. Before that role, he worked as a Public Sector Consultant at Intellera Consulting, former PwC Public Sector, […]

Samuel Crooks

Prior to his internship at the Martens Centre, Samuel studied the MPhil Modern European History and BA Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge (Downing College). His academic interest in European affairs was particularly developed through his undergraduate dissertation on Konrad Adenauer’s foreign policy 1949-1963 with a focus on Westbindung. At Master’s level, […]

Alessandra De Martini

Alessandra De Martini holds a Master’s degree in International Security from the International University of Rome. She joined the Martens Centre as a Communications Intern, assisting the team on a range of tasks, including the organisation of the Centre’s events and conferences. Before her current position, she had been a Schuman trainee at the European […]

Francois Barbieux

Francois Barbieux is a graduate of Tilburg University and the University of Amsterdam, from which he respectively holds a BSc in Global Management of Social Issues and an MSc in Political Science. He also spent a Semester at San Diego State University where he studied International Security and Conflict Resolution. He joined the Martens Centre […]

Security and Defence Days 2023

The event is co-organized by De Gasperi Foundation and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, in cooperation with the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, and comes at a particularly delicate time for the international scenario, with the Russian aggression against Ukraine threatening the security of the entire West, an increasingly asserti China, and a strongly […]

Who’s Afraid of Chinese Electric Vehicles and Clean Tech?

The big announcement finally came. The European Commission will investigate whether China’s electrical vehicles (EV) industry has benefitted from over-generous state support in order to price-cut European competitors. A few days ago, the acting competition commissioner hinted that a similar move might follow on Chinese wind turbines. China’s EV and wind turbine manufacturing sector (similar […]

Poland election: final results suggest opposition parties could form Tusk-led coalition 

Mikuláš Dzurinda, a former Slovak prime minister, told the Guardian this morning that the outcome of the Polish election would “boost the centripetal tendencies in the EU”. Dzurinda, who now heads the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies – the official thinktank of the centre-right European People’s Party – also said that the opposition’s strong […]

Poland’s Election Had a Surprise Winner: The EU

“The results are signaling that Poland is coming back to the heart of Europe” says Eoin Drea, senior researcher at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. 

Remembering our Founder Wilfried Martens on the 10th anniversary of his passing

After the World’s Crocodile Tears for Armenians, What Next for the South Caucasus?

One can only be deeply moved by the sight of exhausted Armenians, fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh in droves. Over a hundred years after the Armenian genocide (perpetrated by the Young Turks in 1915-1917, though still not officially acknowledged by Türkiye), and the establishment of the first Armenian state in 1918, the lightning Azeri offensive forced the so-called […]

Study Reveals Europe’s Middle Class Malcontents

Report author and senior researcher Federico Ottavio Reho told The European Conservative: “I will tell you the finding that struck me the most: the study revealed that in parts of Southern and Eastern Europe, notably Bulgaria, Greece and Slovakia, a sizable portion of the citizens feel let down by society, while significant minorities have greater than average […]

Towards a new EU relationship with northern Africa

Migration, terrorism and energy — three ‘crisis’ topics — have preoccupied EU policy and their societies’ view of their neighbourhood in northern Africa for a long time. Caught in (post-)colonial attitudes, misled by a deplorable lack of knowledge of internal developments, and frightened by new geopolitical competitors: Europe’s relations with northern Africa is a good […]

Putin’s New Budget: A Declaration of Endless War

On the background of talks about international fatigue over the war in Ukraine, and calls for “peace negotiations”, Vladimir Putin has issued the clearest declaration of intent for upcoming years: he is ready to double down on attacking Ukraine, and has no wish for the war to end any time soon. The Russian Government recently […]

September 2023

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. 

Bridge The Channel: UK-EU Relations & Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Climate Policy

Video Op-Eds | Ep. 3 – Three Ways to Fix Young European’s Property Nightmare

In the third episode of ‘Video Op-Eds’, Eoin Drea explores how the lack of affordable housing is impacting young people in Europe and what can be done to address it.

Migration Update September 2023

Welcome to the Migration Update September 2023. This curated news selection brings together many of the most important developments in the migration policy area over the last month, including recent ones tied to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The purpose of these news summaries is to provide a factual base for migration debates within the […]

“A extrema-direita está a mudar dramaticamente a paisagem política na Europa”, reconhece antigo secretário-geral do Parlamento Europeu

Em entrevista ao Expresso, Klaus Welle mostra-se preocupado com o crescimento dos partidos da ultradireita a menos de nove meses das eleições europeias.

Intellemo: Innovation and Empathy to Counter Political Apathy Among Young People

There is a general perception, especially among those of us over the age of 40, that younger generations are characterised by a pronounced political and social apathy. Indeed, many statistics support this notion of younger generations being less politically engaged. This is perhaps most reflected in their lower-than-average voter turnout in a number of countries. […]

Navigating the Storm: Modern Western Culture and the Growing Mental Health Crisis

Western Europe, long regarded as a bastion of prosperity and progress, is facing an alarming rise in mental health crises, particularly among its youth. While numerous factors contribute to this disturbing trend, including the rise of social media and mobile phones, two key elements stand out: the economic and political volatility of the past two […]