Europe Center Commentary & Analysis

Your primer on Portugal’s parliamentary elections

By Andrew Bernard

Portugal will head to the polls on March 10 for snap parliamentary elections following Prime Minister António Costa’s November 2023 resignation and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s subsequent decision to proceed with new elections.

Don’t let the ‘boots on the ground’ debate obscure the progress France is making on Ukraine

By Léonie Allard

Too much focus on the French president’s speculative comments about a potential Western military presence in Ukraine is a distraction from the concrete steps that European leaders made in Paris to support Kyiv. 

It’s Italy’s time to cement itself as the indispensable Mediterranean nation

By Kaush Arha, Paolo Messa

Italy is poised to be Europe’s linchpin for connecting the free and open economies of the Med-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

After 14 years in opposition, what might a Labour foreign policy look like?

By Francis Shin

UK Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy outlined a doctrine of "progressive realism" drawing on the Labour Party's past.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski: ‘Helping Ukraine is not only a good deed. It’s also a good deal.’ 

By Radosław Sikorski

The United States must continue to back Ukraine and deepen its alliances to stop Putin's aggression and prevent a wider global conflict.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski on how the West must stand up to Russia’s aggression

Sikorski joined the Atlantic Council to outline his government's priorities and discuss ways the West can stop dictators—such as Vladimir Putin—from shaping the world order.

It’s Swe-done: What’s next for NATO now that Hungary has approved Sweden’s bid to join

By Atlantic Council experts

Hungary’s parliament has ratified Sweden’s accession to NATO, the final approval needed. Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the about-to-be thirty-two member Alliance.

The US-EU Trade and Technology Council has been a success. Now build on that success.

By L. Daniel Mullaney

A trade agreement foundation would go a long way toward ensuring US-EU engagement across different administrations and commissions.

What I heard in Munich: Europe gets a brutal awakening

By Anna Wieslander

Fear loomed that next year, Europe would be squeezed between a fascist Russia and an undependable United States—a Europe that would be pretty much on its own.

The European Commission’s Maroš Šefčovič maps the way forward for EU-US collaboration on energy security and critical minerals

By Atlantic Council

At an AC Front Page event, Šefčovič argued that “the next level of cooperation” between the United States and EU should be a transatlantic green tech market.