Policy area: Europe

Reports

China shock 2.0: The cost of Germany’s complacency

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform argues that China’s export-driven growth model poses a challenge to Germany’s manufacturing economy. Germany’s industrial model is under mounting pressure from a second China shock – and Berlin can no longer afford to wait for the problem to correct itself. A new study by...

Read more

Iran nuclear monitor

This report from UK think tank the ECFR monitors Iran's nuclear programme. This regularly updated Iran nuclear monitor is developed in consultation with nuclear security experts, drawing on open-source intelligence, IAEA statements and satellite imagery analysis. Indicators track distinct, observable activities or declarations of intent—for example, diplomacy, enrichment or official nuclear policy—that collectively allow readers...

Read more

European higher education in the 2020s

This report from UK think tank the Policy Institute brings together essays from leading higher education figures across Europe. Despite taking very different approaches to financing, higher education sectors across major European economies are experiencing the same underlying pressure. Universities have grown enormously since the 1950s, but public funding has not kept pace. The tools...

Read more

Pressing reset

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society explores what a new relationship with Europe might look like. A decade ago, the British electorate narrowly voted to leave the EU. It was a decision of generational significance, predicated, in large part, on a picture of splendid isolation that has turned out to be false:...

Read more

Tracking money and influence in the UK and Europe

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores transnational anti-rights mobilisation as a hybrid threat to UK and European democracy. This paper highlights the growing threat of transnational anti-rights mobilisation to the UK and European democracy, driven by foreign actors, funding and influence. ​It examines how identity-based narratives are strategically weaponised to undermine democratic resilience,...

Read more

Beyond the border: Upstreaming responses to serious organised crime threats

This report from UK think tank the Coalition for Global Prosperity examines the threats facing Britain from serious and organised crime and how we can tackle it. A timely new report from the Coalition for Global Prosperity, authored by Senior Researcher Zoe Swanwick and introduced by Richard Baker, Member of Parliament for Glenrothes and Mid...

Read more

EU-UK relations: Will 2026 be the year to reset the reset?

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform discusses whether 2026 will be the year to reset EU-UK relations. The world of 2026 is very different from the world of 2016, when the UK voted for Brexit. Neither the UK nor the EU seems to appreciate the scale of the changes, however....

Read more

Prototype warfare in the maritime domain: Opportunities and approaches

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores the transformative concept of prototype warfare in the maritime domain. This research paper discusses the concept of maritime prototype warfare, emphasising its potential to address the Royal Navy’s strategic challenge of managing increasing demands with limited resources. By advocating for operational and commercial innovation, a shift in...

Read more

Testing Times

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society discusses devolution across Europe as the UK considers reform in this area. The UK is highly centralised by international standards. As the government turns to questions of devolution, is an important time to learn what does and does not work for some of our closest neighbours....

Read more

Transforming Belarus from a Russian asset to a buffer state for European security

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores how the West should engage with Minsk. Western discussions of Belarus’s role in regional security have largely considered Minsk as part of broader approaches towards Moscow, rather than as a policy strand in its own right. However, in 2025, the US under President Donald Trump disrupted...

Read more

The future of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture

This report from UK think tank RUSI highlights the need for Europe to reshape its security framework to address emerging threats and ensure long-term stability. This paper highlights the urgent need for Europe to reshape its security framework to address emerging threats and ensure long-term stability and strategic advantage against the most significant challenges to...

Read more

Between a rock and a hard place

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at the position of Europe's clean tech industry between Trump's policies and Chinese pressure. Europe’s large and growing clean tech industry – from wind turbines to electric vehicles – is being hit from several directions. The US’ Trumpian U-turn on green industrial policy...

Read more

Resilient growth

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at aligning productivity and security for resilient growth. Europe’s economic model is under increasing strain as productivity growth stalls and geopolitical competition intensifies. A new CER policy brief, ‘Resilient growth: Aligning productivity and security’, by Aslak Berg and Zach Meyers, argues that the...

Read more

European security in a time of war

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform examines European security in a time of war. A new policy brief by Ian Bond warns that existing European security structures are under serious threat from Russian aggression and US indifference to European interests, while European democracy risks crumbling from within – with Russia...

Read more

Drones: Decoupling supply chains from China

This report from UK think tank RUSI identifies specific challenges in establishing sovereign drone production capabilities. This research paper tackles a critical national security vulnerability: the West's heavy reliance on Chinese components within Military Unmanned Aerial System (MUAS) supply chains. Drawing lessons from the transformative role of drones in the Russo-Ukrainian War, it identifies the...

Read more

Related Events

2 June 2026

Location: NIESR, 2 Dean Trench Street, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HE

Think tank: National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR)

The regional and sectoral impacts of Brexit

This event hosted by UK think tanks NIESR and UK in a Changing Europe takes stock of what the evidence now tells us about Brexit’s economic effects. To mark the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum,  NIESR and the UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) are organising a short series of public events to take...

Related Articles

Three facts about a Brexit fisheries agreement

The Withdrawal Agreement states that the EU and the UK should ‘use their best endeavours to conclude and ratify their new fisheries agreement by 1 July 2020’. Clearly, their best endeavours have not been enough: talks broke up on 2 July with continuing disagreement over an EU-UK fisheries agreement. The EU and the UK are...

Read more