Europe Center Commentary & Analysis

Defending Europe Against Russia

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former secretary general of NATO, has some advice for European governments: invest more in defense in light of the threat posed by Russia. “I think more and more people understand that Russia has changed from being a strategic power to being a strategic challenge,” said Rasmussen. Rasmussen, who is also a […]

Rebuilding Trust in the European Union

By Rachel Ansley

Faced with challenges posed by Brexit, an unprecedented influx of migrants, and feeble economies, the European Union must work hard to rebuild confidence among European publics, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák said at the Atlantic Council on October 6. “Our main focus now is bringing the European Union closer to Europeans,” said Lajčák. Slovakia holds […]

Negotiating a Brexit

By Ashish Kumar Sen

EU will seek ‘best exit possible’ for the United Kingdom, says David O’Sullivan, EU’s ambassador to the United States The European Union wishes to negotiate the “best exit possible” for the United Kingdom from the bloc, said David O’Sullivan, the EU’s ambassador to the United States. “I don’t think it is a question of saying […]

Vilify and Amplify: How the Kremlin’s Disinformation Machine is Attacking the MH17 Probe

By Ben Nimmo

The Kremlin has turned its disinformation machine on those who are investigating the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in July of 2014, using state employees, state-run media, and the state-run, though unacknowledged, “troll factory” of fake Internet accounts. The primary goal of the media attacks has been to undermine the credibility of […]

It’s Too Soon to Write Off Angela Merkel

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Angela Merkel has acknowledged that the setback her party suffered in elections in an eastern state this past weekend was a repudiation of her welcome to Syrian migrants, but the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell said backing away from this controversial policy will only hurt the German chancellor further. “The voters would be more skeptical of […]

France Facing its Biggest Threat Since 1945

By Ashish Kumar Sen

French ambassador to the United States, Gérard Araud, sees ‘a very dark moment’ for his country France, a victim of terrorist attacks for the past nineteen months, is facing its greatest security challenge since World War II, according to Gérard Araud, France’s ambassador to the United States. “It is a very, very dark moment for […]

Europe’s (In)security Challenge

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Cooperation among European law enforcement agencies is a ‘big challenge,’ says Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell A spate of terrorist attacks across Europe over the past nineteen months has shaken confidence in European security, but has had divergent impacts on the popularity of the leaders of France and Germany, according to the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell. […]

How the GOP Abandons Ukraine

By Jeffrey Gedmin

When asked recently why he turned up in Moscow last December to help celebrate the tenth anniversary of RT, Michael Flynn rambled about wanting to deliver stern lectures to the Russians. The retired US Lt. Gen.—who now serves as foreign policy adviser to Republican nominee Donald J. Trump—was seated at a gala dinner next to […]

Turning Brexit into Reality

By Ashish Kumar Sen

UK’s incoming prime minister, Theresa May, faces task of negotiating with the EU Incoming British Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to move ahead with taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union, and this is the most likely future course, said the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell. However, a Brexit is not inevitable. “There […]

A Far-Right Victory in Austria Would Be Bad News for the European Union

By Teresa Eder

The July 1 decision by Austria’s high court to overturn the results of the May presidential election presents another opportunity for the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) to come to power. That would be bad news for the European Union as the FPÖ’s presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer, has vowed to call a referendum, if he is […]