When China’s President Xi Jinping launched his flagship project on the “Silk Road Economic Belt” in Astana in the fall of 2013, followed by the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” in Jakarta a month later, few people in France took notice, except perhaps for a few experts in academic circles or research institutions focusing on China.
The Italian eagerness to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government over participation in the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) sent shockwaves throughout Europe. Under the Eurosceptic coalition government in Rome, Italy has found a friend in China, which sees the ‘forgotten’ port of Trieste as the perfect gateway to the heart of Europe for its 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Most ways to resolve the current stalemate in the UK parliament with respect to Brexit imply that the UK will no longer be part of the internal market for financial services. There is a risk that capital market services in the EU-27 will decline in scope and quality without the UK in the internal market but this risk can be mitigated. We propose that the EU and the UK form a joint high-level committee to develop proposals for simplified and better regulation that strengthens market discipline.
Shared visions make for strong allies. The US and EU interests in each other’s energy security run deep for a reason. Energy security and interconnectivity breed economic opportunity and stability as well as political security, all of which are of the highest priority on both sides of the Atlantic.
The 31 March presidential elections in Ukraine matter to Ukraine, its region and the EU. While the majority of experts deem it impossible to have a winner in the first round and, thus, expect a second one in April[1], the March contest will be a first important step in the crucial process of determining the direction the country will take. Thus, while we should not hold our breath on election day, we should definitely keep a close eye on the contest and its outcome.[2]
Donald Trump's policies have introduced new tensions in the international order, an order that the U.S. had been defending and promoting since the Second World War. At the same time, China’s growth and Russia’s newfound assertiveness are increasingly challenging the Western liberal order. In short, the signs of the “end of a world” that many had taken for granted for decades are multiplying, with far-reaching consequences on the resilience of the international system, on multilateral organisations, and even on the institutional structure of individual states.
Il cambiamento climatico, pur essendo un fenomeno globale, può manifestarsi a livello locale con effetti differenti, talvolta in contrasto tra loro; per esempio prolungati periodi di siccità ed eventi meteorici improvvisi e di intensità estrema.
If there is one thing that the Chinese leadership hates, it is not being in control of something crucially important. In the context of its authoritarian political system, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains in power with no need to compete with another political party. However, regime security remains its number one concern (or core interest) and, more than anything else, it relies on the fact that the party is seen as legitimate ruler.
Engagement and constructive dialogue, albeit conditional, are the leitmotif that have driven the European strategy towards Iran for the past three decades. While this is likely to continue being the case, the fear of being back to the future, in a situation in which such approach yielded limited results, might lead to a new and different stage in the EU-Iran relations moving forwards.
The leaders of the G20 are meeting in Buenos Aires amid growing geopolitical and trade tensions. The Summit is a long shot from 2009, the first time it was held at the leaders' level. Back then, governments of the 19 industrialized nations (plus the EU) managed to avoid a major trade war in the face of the worst economic recession since 1929. Today, the US-China trade war is on, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is flaring up again, and the Khashoggi case continues to haunt Saudi Arabia.
