Economic security

European countries are deeply intertwined with the United States financially. But under Trump they can no longer rely on trust, political restraint and legal certainty. Europe must reduce its financial dependence.

Beijing has reshaped the US-China tech war by weaponising critical minerals, forcing Washington to abandon non-negotiable controls in favour of G2-bargaining. Europe now faces growing dependence and exposure to economic coercion, and must reindustrialise with partners to protect...

Talk of a US–China 'trade truce' may lull Europe into a false sense of security. Beijing's export controls on rare earths and critical materials remain disruptive, unpredictable and coercive. Unless the EU accelerates de-risking, its industries and defence sector will stay...

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.

Europe faces a security and competitiveness crisis. Increased defence spending offers an opportunity to address both challenges, unleashing a dual-use technology boom. Both the EU and its Member States have key roles to play in this effort.

Critical materials are the backbone of modern defence. For Europe's rearmament to succeed, the EU defence ministers must break Beijing's chokehold on these essential resources.

The pledge to develop a new foreign economic policy is central to the European Commission’s July 2024 Political Guidelines. This ambition has become even more pressing in light of President Trump’s disruptive ‘America First’ trade practices, and the broader need to increase the...

With the advent of Trump’s tariffs, the EU has once again found itself caught in the crossfire of great power geo-economic ambitions. It must respond by prioritising EU and partner industries, cutting red tape, and boosting energy production.

If the EU does not engage proactively with Washington, the new Trump 2.0 administration may proceed without taking the bloc’s interests into account. Intent on countering Chinese technological and industrial dominance, Trump 2.0 may push Europeans towards a degree of decoupling...

EU leaders would be wise to work with Trump 2.0 on reindustrialisation, whatever differences they may have on Ukraine and bilateral trade. The concentration of fighting capability and industrial capacity in the anti-Western axis is the major threat to Europe’s security.