European Union

The ripple effects of NATO expansion
The ripple effects of NATO expansion
After lengthy diplomatic toing-and-froing, Sweden has been inducted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with some pundits quipping that the Baltic Sea is now…
Kicking up a stink: Europe’s farmers, like those in Australia, are counting costs
Kicking up a stink: Europe’s farmers, like those in Australia, are counting costs
The European Union has abandoned a plan to reduce pesticide use by half across the continent by the end of this decade. It follows widespread demonstrations from local farmers in…
The Bletchley Park artificial intelligence summit: Good optics, less substance
The Bletchley Park artificial intelligence summit: Good optics, less substance
The Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil gave us a guide in these pages to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s two-day artificial intelligence summit, hosted by the United Kingdom this month…
Dashed hopes for Australia, Europe still has blind spots on trade
Dashed hopes for Australia, Europe still has blind spots on trade
The unsurprising announcement came overnight by Trade Minister Don Farrell that Australia has decided to walk away from negotiations on free trade agreement with the European…
China’s car exports pose a key question to policymakers: Compete or protect?
China’s car exports pose a key question to policymakers: Compete or protect?
China is on track to export nearly 5 million motor vehicles by the end of the year, making China the largest car exporter in the world. This has caught many by surprise. But the…
Berlin’s economic “de-risking” model could be Europe's answer to the Taiwan question
Berlin’s economic “de-risking” model could be Europe's answer to the Taiwan question
On 13 July, Germany released its China strategy white paper. The 64-page document highlighted the European power’s acceptance of a “systemic rivalry” with the People’s Republic of…
Regulating artificial intelligence: How the EU just got us closer
Regulating artificial intelligence: How the EU just got us closer
Last month, a draft European Union Artificial Intelligence Act was agreed in the European Parliament. Arguably, the draft Act represents the most comprehensive and radical step…
Economic diplomacy: Duelling D-words to delineate China
Economic diplomacy: Duelling D-words to delineate China
Risky business For the leader-in-waiting from a small, risk averse country, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was remarkably quick last month to smack down the…
Europe’s divisions over China could hamper G-7 unity
Europe’s divisions over China could hamper G-7 unity
While the focus of the G-7 meeting in Hiroshima this week will be on Russia, the gathering leaders will have China on their minds. But could differences in Europe over how best to…
Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant
Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant
Returning from a trip to Beijing, President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview this week to journalists from Politico and French newspaper Les Echos. His words, especially when…