... Pressure as Instruments for EU Reform
Right-wing political forces in Germany, such as the AfD, seek a fundamental reform of the European Union. In this concept, the internal market, the customs union, and the four fundamental freedoms—the free movement ... ... Germany’s net financial transfers to the EU. According to this view, these measures are causing immense
harm
to the German economy.
To enforce a reform of the EU, Germany would have to negotiate from a position of strength and fully recognise its market ...
Report No. 99 / 2025
Report No. 99 / 2025
The following report focuses on the Middle Eastern policies of extra-regional actors and their transformation in changing conditions. It concentrates on studying the strategies pursued by Russia, the U.S., the EU, China and India in the Middle East. The report also examines how Middle Eastern countries perceive extra-regional actors as they aspire to build pragmatic and balanced relationships with external partners.
Extra-Regional Actors in the Middle East...
... external challenges, including the transformation of global value chains caused by Trump’s April initiatives.
The European Union: Adaptation Strategies and Internal Chasms
Andrey Kortunov:
Can U.S. New Tariffs Trigger Structural Changes in Global Economy?
The European Union’s search for answers to the U.S. industrial revitalization and protectionism strategy has been complex and contradictory. The EU entered the year 2025 by introducing the
Competitiveness Compass
program, which included the main proposals ...
... bold escalation in U.S. trade policy, imposing a baseline 10% tariff on all imports and a specific 20% tariff on goods from the European Union (EU), up from the previous average tariff rate of 3.5%. [
1
] Framed as a countermeasure to persistent trade imbalances,... ... counterparts. [
5
]
Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)
Andrey Kortunov:
Can U.S. New Tariffs Trigger Structural Changes in Global Economy?
Beyond tariffs, non-tariff barriers (NTBs)—including import quotas, subsidies, strict regulations, bureaucratic customs ...
... achieved much faster and at a much lower cost. That is the vital economic dimensions of “strategic autonomy.” These dimensions, above all, include the advancement of critical modern technologies (digital infrastructure, semiconductors, AI, green economy) and diversification of supply chains to limit the current overwhelming EU dependence on US trading partners.
To achieve both goals, the EU would need stronger economic ties with China. The convergence of interests between the two major economic ...
... difficult to compensate for these losses. While the diaspora abroad can serve as an asset – lobbying for pro-Ukrainian legislation, advocating for sanctions against Russia, and sending remittances – it cannot directly contribute to the country’s economy.
Human losses have been compounded by extensive damage to infrastructure, including industrial and material assets. Ongoing military activity has caused significant destruction, with reconstruction expected to require tens of billions of dollars....
... inflation has seen foreign investor confidence grow slowly but surely, the current amount of FDI is not sufficient to boost the economy. EU countries have traditionally been the dominant source of foreign capital for Turkey, but as the economic axis is ... ... imagination one can see that the benefits of joining BRICS will be very modest both for Turkey and the grouping itself.
Unlike the European Union, BRICS is not a common market and is unlikely to become one. What is certain is that the markets of the countries ...
On the intertwined interests of regional and external powers in South Caucasus
Caucasus: turbulence in the shadow of Ukraine
These days, the Caucasus has been pushed to the margins of the international agenda and the media narrative by developments in and around Ukraine. However, the importance of geopolitical transformations in this part of Eurasia should by no means be underestimated.
Sergey Markedonov:
Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict: Last Chapter or More to Come?
To begin with, it was here...
The latest wave of sanctions does not bring qualitative changes—their impact on the Russian economy and its relations with foreign partners is unlikely to be fundamental
Amid the second anniversary of the start of the Special Military Operation (SVO) in Ukraine, a number of Western countries and associations launched a new set of sanctions ...
... to return to the old economic structure that the country had in the beginning of the century, but to create an entirely new economy, which could organically fit into the international (global, not just European) division of labor of the mid-21st century.... ... decisive. Much more will depend on the strategic economic decisions made in Kyiv, as well as on the long-term vision that the European Union might or might not develop regarding a unique future role of Ukraine in the Forth Industrial Revolution, which ...
