Research programmes
The choices behind the headlines.
Three programmes examine the decisions shaping Europe's security, energy system and economic relationships. Each brings a policy question together with the public record, the choices it creates and a reading path through our analysis.
The politics behind European power
Europe's security commitments depend on decisions made in different capitals, under different budgetary and political constraints. This programme connects the war in Ukraine, NATO's changing priorities and Europe's diplomatic partnerships to a practical question: what can European governments deliver together, and sustain when their interests diverge?
- From defence budgets to usable forces
- The coalition behind a sanctions package
- Diplomacy beyond the common statement
Keeping Europe powered through disruption
Europe's energy debate begins with supply, but it does not end at the border. Electricity networks, demand, repair capability and the distribution of costs determine how a disruption reaches households and industry. This programme follows those connections, from the response to Russian gas dependence to the infrastructure needed for an electrified economy.
- The demand side of energy independence
- Who pays for a connected electricity system?
- Restoration after the first disruption
Trade, technology and the cost of dependence
Trade and investment connect Europe to the world and expose it to decisions made elsewhere. Economic security policy has to identify which exposures matter, which tools can address them and what those tools cost. This programme follows tariffs, industrial policy, critical materials and carbon rules through the decisions faced by firms and governments.
- A tariff is only part of the trade shock
- The industrial policy between a subsidy and a factory
- When rules become market infrastructure
Follow a decision through to its consequences.
- Establish the decision. Read the public record, its scope and the point at which it applies.
- Test the mechanism. Identify the institutions, resources and incentives through which a policy is meant to work.
- Examine the alternatives. Make trade-offs visible and state what evidence would change the assessment.
The documents behind the questions
- Russia sanctions: the next test is implementation
- The grids package reaches the negotiating table
- CBAM moves into its definitive regime
Event and decision dates are identified in each programme. Commentary is presented separately from the official record.