In a world that is largely driven by competition and rivalry (and partnership, yet) between great powers, understanding the Grand Strategy of each of these powers is crucial. So is developing a Grand Strategy for the EU itself. An EU that acts as one, as one pole of the multipolar world on a par with the other powers, is the only way to safeguard the way of life that the Member States of the EU have chosen, based on democracy, the free market, and equality.
Power cannot be divided: a global player must have political, economic, as well as military power. To that end, the Europe in the World Programme analyses the diplomacy and defence of the US, China, and Russia, and of the EU, NATO, and their members. We also focus on geoeconomics, researching Open Strategic Autonomy and the Global Gateway as key EU instruments, as well as the geoeconomic approaches of the other powers.
Defence policy is our third main axis of research, with a particular focus on European defence and its interaction with NATO, but also on nuclear deterrence and the deterrence of hybrid threats. Throughout all three research axis, we devote special attention to the role of Belgium, including notably the development of its own National Security Strategy and diplomatic and military capabilities.
Commentaries
The year 2026 started on a high note for EU-India relations. The January-27 agreements on the EU-India FTA, on the Security and Defence Partnership, and on Mobility signalled a deepening […]
In 2025 the American president signed an executive order on ‘Most Favoured Nation’ prices (MFN), asserting that Americans ‘should not be forced to subsidize low-cost prescription drugs and biologics in […]
Commentaries
The EU is part of the Arctic, and the Arctic is part of the EU – a reality already recognised in its 2021 Arctic Policy. This is not a dogmatic […]
Commentaries
If Trump calls Putin, the Ukrainians must expect the worst. A year ago, Putin rang Trump whilst the Ukrainian President Zelensky was on a plane bound for Washington. In Ukraine’s […]
External publications
In many NATO capitals, the policy debate on nuclear deterrence is intensifying. This is no surprise. The nuclear saber-rattling that has accompanied Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has offered Western […]
Europe’s defence architecture is becoming increasingly complex precisely at the moment when greater coherence is most needed. The amount of new minilateral defence frameworks established and developed in the last […]