Europe Center Commentary & Analysis

Dispatch from Berlin: What Germans most want to know about the post-midterms United States

By Daniel Fried, Jörn Fleck

Germany faces even more pressure to lead European security amid uncertainty over the Trump administration's post-midterm Russia policy.

As Gen Z asserts itself in Serbia and Albania, the upside for the West is far greater than the headaches

By Agon Maliqi

The West has an opening to advance democratic values and foreign policy alignment in the Balkans.

France’s protests are playing into Le Pen’s hands 

By Lisa Homel, Aurélie Vittot

Protests have shifted France's national debate toward restoring order, a narrative that aligns closely with Marine Le Pen’s and the French right’s messaging.

Experts react: Serbia’s Vučić is out and the student-led movement is in. What comes next? 

By Atlantic Council experts

Serbia’s student-led opposition just ended Vučić’s fourteen years at the helm. Atlantic Council experts assess what comes next.

Dispatch from Moldova: How to restore NATO’s deterrence against Russia’s escalating drone attacks

By Ian Brzezinski

Restoring deterrence will require a course correction in the West’s approach to Russia's escalating drone attacks.

A French-German non-paper could be a turning point in EU trade defense

By L. Daniel Mullaney

What to know about the proposal for a quicker European trade-retaliation tool.

What the US gains by keeping a military presence in Kosovo

A US withdrawal would be read as disengagement from the Western Balkans and, with it, from the regional security architecture that it helped shape.

5 questions (and expert answers) about Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election

By Amanda Thorpe, Jasmin Mujanović, Olivia Olson

Atlantic Council experts explain the players, voting system, and implications for the EU and NATO.

Macron won the argument over European strategic autonomy. Will better European defense come of it?

By Aurélie Vittot

Delivering real capabilities is where this vision of strategic autonomy will succeed or fail.

What von der Leyen and Carney are up to with Canada’s ‘associate’ EU membership

By Jörn Fleck and Imran Bayoumi

In her state of the union address, the European Commission president proposed Ottawa join the European Union, but not as a full member.