Commentary

The 2025 enlargement package revives optimism about EU expansion, yet deferred reforms and political hesitation among Member States threaten to stall progress — testing the Union’s readiness as much as that of its candidates.

The war in Sudan is one of the world's most acute humanitarian crises. The EU must press for accountability, curb arms flows, and back global investigations into the illicit financial networks sustaining the conflict.

Russia's hybrid warfare against the EU has escalated in recent weeks, revealing a pattern of coercive probing designed to test Europe's defences and unity. The challenge for Europeans is to demonstrate to Russia that they are capable of deterring future provocations.

Albania has made global headlines in appointing 'Diella', an AI system, as a cabinet minister. Hailed as a step towards digital governance, it has also drawn criticism over legality, accountability and the risks of entrusting political power to artificial intelligence.

As a ceasefire takes hold in Gaza, the EU has an opportunity to reassert its influence – supporting reconstruction, governance and security while reaffirming its long-standing commitment to a two-state solution.

Critics blame Europe’s ‘summer of humiliation’ on the EU’s timidity in trade negotiations with President Trump. Yet the greater threat to European prosperity is Beijing’s twin strategy of flooding markets with cheap goods while weaponising supply chains.

In the recent drone attacks, it was always small groups of European countries that took action. Not all important decisions are made by all 27 EU Member States.

After Sunday’s parliamentary elections, Moldova has avoided a ‘Georgia scenario’, but its democracy and European trajectory remain under peril.

Despite polished summits and ambitious rhetoric, the EU–India partnership risks drifting without purpose. To unlock its potential, both sides need clarity, focus and realism.

As he concludes his mission as Head of the EU Delegation in Myanmar, Ranieri Sabatucci reflects on the country he first encountered and the one he is leaving behind.