🌏 From the BIG archive: The EU and US–China Rivalry Frans-Paul van der Putten argues that Europe must clarify its position before a future escalation forces another reactive response - and anchor its China policy in long-term interests. 🔗 shorturl.at/xRVQR

👁️ From the BIG archive: Strategic Foresight in the EU Kate O’Riordan and Eliott de Smedt Day explore how foresight can help Europe move beyond reactive policymaking - and why uncomfortable scenarios are essential to preparedness. 🔗 shorturl.at/p4SdW

🌐 From the BIG archive: Geopolitics in the Boardroom Thomas Laffitte explores how companies are adapting as geopolitical risk moves to the core of business - from dedicated teams to analysis embedded across strategy and decision-making. 🔗 shorturl.at/v5KhM

🧭 From the BIG archive: The Deeper Rupture Jonathan Hill argues that, amid systemic upheaval and growing powerlessness, Europe can offer more than institutions: a political principle rooted in reconciliation, unity and collective action. 🔗 shorturl.at/18U99

🕰️ From the BIG archive: Gas, God and Grifters Martin Leng argues that Europe’s normalcy bias has become a strategic liability. As the old rulebook crumbles, Europe must recognise disorder as a structural condition - and prepare for its consequences. 🔗 shorturl.at/xfbDt

🧩 From the BIG archive: The Union’s Strategic Culture at Times of War Kate O’Riordan explores how Europe’s strategic cultures are adapting to war, shifting threats and blurred lines between peace and conflict - and why their differences may become a strategic asset. 🔗 shorturl.at/fpNwf

📚 From the BIG archive: Europe’s Intellectual Foundations Joshua Livestro revisits Europe’s geopolitical tradition and argues for a more resilient narrative of the Union - one rooted in strategic necessity, historical experience and the capacity to act independently. 🔗 shorturl.at/j8KCp

🧭 From the BIG archive: Finding Europe’s Historical Footing As history accelerates, Europe must move beyond reactive politics. Luuk van Middelaar argues that it should revisit 1989, recover its agency, and rearm both militarily and intellectually. 🔗 shorturl.at/0RRxM

🧭 From the BIG archive: Why Geopolitics? Europe can no longer treat geopolitics as a distant discipline. Luuk van Middelaar asks how it can recover a sense of power, place and history - and navigate a new era of great-power politics without losing its principles. 🔗 shorturl.at/xGEkO

Pack geopolitics in your suitcase this summer. ☀️🌍📚 As Brussels slows down for the summer break, our team has put together a vacation reading list for those looking to carry big ideas beyond the office and into the quieter weeks ahead. 🔗 shorturl.at/uQMHH

📖 The summer edition of the BIG Review is almost here. Ivan Krastev unpacks the Cold War’s seismic swansong in conversation with Luuk van Middelaar, BIG maps the global semiconductor supply chain, the Dutch FM's vision for the EU, and much more. Curious? 🔗 Read it first: big-europe.eu/subscribe

⚡ Europe has a plan to stop buying Russian fossil fuels. It has another to buy less oil and gas. But what about the imports that remain? A fossil fuel supply strategy beckons. BIG's @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social set out the five choices the EU must make to get there. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/MkWOz

The Hague’s message to Europe: realism, optimism and capacity. In this Four BIG Questions interview, Tom Berendsen, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, lays out the Dutch vision for a stronger and safer Europe. 🔗 shorturl.at/wXP73

Article 5's power as a deterrent depends on credibility anchored in trust. Yet trust among NATO Allies is at a low ebb. Can it be rebuilt in Ankara? For Defence Fellow Claude-France Arnould, the Alliance must show it can work together - otherwise, it will only show weakness. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/hyvdB

🇪🇺 The time for a European Social Stack is now. 💡 Michael Foster and Björn Staschen argue that we must reclaim our digital sovereignty by building the social infrastructure needed to speak, debate and share knowledge according to our own rules. 🔗 shorturl.at/UGkw8

What place for a beefed-up Bundeswehr in Europe’s shifting security architecture? Bundestag Member @sarananni.bsky.social gives BIG her take on Berlin's military Zeitenwende, the symbolism of German rearmament, and why coherent industrial policy is the bedrock of our defence. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/CUmA2

New week, new BIG name: we're proud to welcome global digital policy expert Sabine Muscat as Senior Fellow. She will lead our research on the geopolitics of AI. Power politics has a new digital front line. With BIG, Sabine will make the case for EU policies which makes Europe a player, not a pawn.

❗️As debate grows over its future, EEAS faces a familiar charge: Europe has diplomatic potential, but still struggles to turn it into coordinated action Revisit two BIG essays on Europe’s search for coherence in a fragmented strategic environment: 🔗 shorturl.at/VwqbT 🔗 shorturl.at/X6H3S

🛂 The New Pact on Migration+Asylum further externalizes the EU's efforts to control migratory flows. Yet partnerships with third states risk creating dependencies, with Europe's neighbours exploiting their role for geopolitical leverage - and abuses even further out of sight. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/zvsjl

Faced with the return of history, Europe must come together or risk falling apart. Our Founding Director Luuk van Middelaar is leading the intellectual charge for unity. Meet the thinker behind the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics in today's NYT: shorturl.at/LqkMJ @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social

The Global Gateway has long been framed as the EU’s alternative to Chinese geostrategic influence in the Global South. But does it live up to its own moral ambition? Valeria Santi takes stock of the Initiative - as well as the critiques levelled against it - in our latest essay. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/sbUjD

Europe isn’t short of ideas to strengthen the global role of the euro. What it lacks is strategy. In a new BIG Briefing, Martijn Jeroen van der Linden sets out how the EU can move from ad-hoc monetary policy towards a strategy which ensures geoeconomic relevance for the euro. ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/cGQGR

🇺🇸🌍 As Washington looks to expand its influence in European politics, the ideas behind MAGA’s view of Europe have never mattered more. In a new BIG essay, Beni Kovacs examines the ideological roots of MAGA's anti-European offensive. 🔗 Read the full essay here: shorturl.at/ppouK

The EU-Western Balkans Summit takes place this Friday. The wide-ranging agenda reveals the renewed relevance of the region for the EU's geostrategic ambitions - not least when it comes to enlargement. Here's our overview of what to expect in Montenegro ➡️🔗 shorturl.at/3khAU

🇪🇺🇮🇪 On 26 May, BIG welcomed Thomas Byrne, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, for a discussion on Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU. 🔗 Read the full post-event report and listen again here: shorturl.at/fd1rn

🛡️ NATO avoided a moment of crisis in Sweden – but the alliance remains deeply uncertain. In a new BIG op-ed, Claude-France Arnould examines how turbulence within the transatlantic alliance is sharpening debates on European defence industrial capacity and strategic autonomy. 🔗 shorturl.at/n9hqd

💡 In a new BIG essay, Paul Nolan examines the political logic behind Macron’s Africa strategy – and the structural transformations reshaping France’s role on the continent. Read the full piece here: shorturl.at/80nhy

📅🌐 How can Europe remain competitive in an age of geoeconomics? Join BIG for a conversation on Europe’s economic future in a more contested global economy, and on the upcoming Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Find out more and register here: shorturl.at/M5S8u

🧠🛡️ Hybrid conflict begins in the mind – and Europe’s defence begins with bolstering its cognitive resilience. Faced with Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference on a huge scale, the challenge now is to anchor various countermeasures in a coherent pan-European strategy. 🔗 shorturl.at/A5x1E

Missed last week’s European Sovereignty Days at BIG? Read the reports of our insightful conversations with leading experts - or listen again - via the links. ⬇️ 🟡 Digital sovereignty w/ Marietje Schaake + Paul Timmers: 🔗 shorturl.at/MhkHq 🟡 Strategic autonomy w/ SAAB and Indra: 🔗 shorturl.at/iKGXL