At their ‘leaders’ retreat’, we are seeing the curtailing of EU democracy in the name of saving Europe’s economy. They should be unleashing citizens’ demand for a stronger, independent Europe.
The new EU narrative on India reflects a modesty, pragmatism and flexibility that has long been absent from its dealings with the Global South. The unhelpful habit of dividing the world into democracies and autocracies is fading, replaced by a grudging acknowledgement that the EU is a middle-sized power which must work harder to find its place in a multipolar world, writes Shada Islam.
Or maybe we should ask a harder question: what if the goal is not to actually communicate – but just to be seen trying?
The exhibitionist display of raw power is no longer Russia’s alone. As the United States drifts toward “might is right” governance, a necropolitical oligarchy takes hold — one that only a politically unified Europe might counter, argues Anton Shekhovtsov.
I started the year by fulfilling a big wish: visiting Ukraine. So, I visited Lviv. It was a good choice. It gave me a clue what 2026 is about.
What Vladimir Putin cannot achieve on the battlefield and in Russian factories due to incompetence and corruption, he is trying to achieve instead by offering American companies and politicians fat contracts and huge profits, writes Caroline de Gruyter.
In 2025, uncertainty became the dominant buzzword in economic debates — but that does not mean policymakers can afford to stop looking ahead. On the contrary, identifying the key economic fault lines that will shape 2026 is now more important than ever, writes economics columnist Judith Arnal.
Somehow, people are under the impression EUobserver is a way larger organisation that it actually is.
A Europe that trades away its founding principles risks fulfilling Donald Trump’s cruel prophecy of becoming little more than another middle-sized power with a shrinking economy, an ageing population, and rapidly declining influence beyond its borders, writes Shada Islam.
What distinguishes the current review is its conceptual ambition — floating the idea of ending lifelong civil-service status for new hires, a move that, if extended to the whole institution, would signal a shift from a permanent, independent bureaucracy to a flexible, temporary workforce aligned with shifting political priorities, warns Alberto Alemanno.
The American part of the “peace plan” reflects the profiteering interests of real estate developer Steven Witkoff and investor Jared Kushner, both aligning neatly with Donald Trump’s own interests in wealth accumulation, writes Anton Shekhovtsov.
The significance of the EU’s so-called Democracy Shield is overrated. It represents a humdrum development of policies, but the real game of defending democracy lies elsewhere, writes columnist Michael Meyer-Resende.
Small European states now seek protection through deeper EU ties amid growing global power rivalries. The latest example is the principality of Liechtenstein. The lesson seems to be that in a larger club, you have at least some protection against tyrannical superpowers, writes EUobserver columnist Caroline de Gruyter
The temptation to burn political capital on marginal increases to the MFF is understandable — but profoundly misplaced. Even the most ambitious version of this budget will represent only a fraction of Europe’s financing needs, explains Judith Arnal.
The playbook is brutally efficient: fabricate a scandal, delegitimise and defund organisations into dependency on philanthropic support, then criminalise their new funding as foreign influence — all while continuing to demand NGOs monitor consumer protections that governments refuse to fund themselves, warns new EUobserver columnist Alberto Alemanno.
Governments are curbing civic space, expanding surveillance, restricting dissent, undermining media independence and scapegoating migrants in plain sight. Amid housing shortages, rising energy and living costs, corruption and political polarisation, the far-right has zoomed in to expand its popularity and outreach, writes Shada Islam.
Advertising is easy to hate. But once upon a time — in fact, for centuries until this decade — it subsidised journalism for people who did not want to pay (as much) for news, and thus, supported democracy. Could it be won back through some simple but nitty-gritty policy?
If Russia leads the world in anything, it is in the dark art of psychological warfare. In its quest to restore Soviet-era geopolitical might, Moscow prefers to follow the principle of ‘winning without fighting’. This principle rests on achieving one’s objectives through psychological, political, informational, and diplomatic means rather than conventional warfare, warns Anton Shekhovtsov.
The problem is that scripture is beyond criticism. The Draghi report should not be. Ten months into the Trump presidency it has not aged well, and the report should be debated, challenged, and improved — not treated as gospel, explains Michael Meyer-Resende.
The French sociologist Gaston Bouthoul’s wrote the “standard book for understanding war”. Bouthoul was fascinated by demographic factors, particularly the abnormally high proportion of young, unemployed men in a population just before the outbreak of violence, explains Catherine de Gruyter.
