Dear Friends,

The fabric of the European security order is fraying. Putin’s imperialist revisionism threatens Europe. Trump is undermining US security guarantees for Europe. And Orbán’s vetoes are impeding European action. This is nothing new; the writing has been on the wall for a long time. What has changed is the urgency. Putin’s revisionism, Trump’s erraticism, and Orbán’s obstructionism are coming to a head. It’s crunch time.

“But where danger is, grows the saving power also.” These past weeks have demonstrated that the EU is capable of moving forward. It has increased its ammunition production capacity. It has overcome Orbán’s veto to agree on a 50-billion-euro financial assistance package for Kyiv. And it has taken first steps to use windfall profits from frozen Russian assets. Individual member states have also taken on leadership roles, such as Estonia, which has promised to donate military aid to Ukraine equal to 0.25 per cent of its GDP. But single steps, albeit welcome, do not a strategy make. What is needed is a clear European vision of deterrence. This is where the debate is heading.

That’s why the focus of our 2024 Foreign Policy Conference, held in early February, was “Defending Europe in Uncertain Times”. Because this is the key question: how do we defend Europe? Ideas range from a European nuclear shield, an EU army, and an exemption from deficit rules for defence spending to a primary focus on disarmament. The salience of this debate will increase as the European and US elections draw nearer.

At the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, our contribution to this debate includes a policy brief and online discussion on how the EU should approach a potential Trump 2.0 scenario, a feature on the role of the UK in a new European security architecture,  and an article exploring how the EU should work with Taiwan following its election.

Further details on these and other Böll EU publications and events – including our publication on greening the European Central Bank and a launch event for a policy study on women CSO leaders for systemic change – can be found in the newsletter below. We hope you enjoy reading it.

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is a German political foundation affiliated with the German Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens). Its primary task is political education and advocacy in Germany and abroad. Our main tenets are ecology and sustainability, democracy and human rights, non-violence and justice. In our work, we place particular emphasis on gender democracy, equal rights for minorities and the political and social participation of migrants.

Our namesake, the writer and Nobel Prize laureate Heinrich Böll, personifies the fundamental principles we stand for: defence of freedom and human dignity, civic courage, open debate and the acknowledgement of art and culture as independent spheres of thought and action. As a think tank for green visions and ideas, we are part of an international network with 34 offices worldwide and with partner projects in more than 60 countries.

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union represents the foundation vis-à-vis European and international institutions, associations, non-governmental organisations and media based in Brussels. The office is a main point of contact for individuals, groups and organisations from around the world interested in EU politics and policies. The future of the European project and the role of the European Union in the world are at the centre of our activities and efforts.