Beijing and Moscow are linked by a strategic partnership and a common adversary, “the West”. Senior Diplomat Johannes Regen­brecht analyzes for us what this alliance is about, what interests Xi Jinping is pursuing in Putin’s large-scale war against Ukraine and what challenges the Russian-Chinese alliance faces from an erratic president in the White House. The US and the European Union must be aware that restric­tions on Ukraine’s sover­eignty will set a signif­icant precedent not only for Europe, but also for the Indo-Pacific region. 

Repression is inten­si­fying in Georgia: following an attempt to introduce a Russian-inspired foreign agents law, targeted attacks on civil society, protesters, and independent media have ensued. Civic space is increas­ingly being restricted – through surveil­lance, legal crack­downs, and the targeted perse­cution of critical voices. To withstand this crucial fight for democracy, Georgian civil society now urgently needs clear and decisive support from Europe. Ivane Chkhik­vadze from the Civil Society Foundation analyzes this escalation and outlines concrete expec­ta­tions towards the EU.

Ukraine’s membership bid taken on real momentum since the country applied for EU membership in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Though Ukraine’s track record is generally positive, the devil is in the details. Difficult reforms, especially in the judiciary, require the attention and support of the EU and its member states.

Ten years ago, the Minsk Agreement was negotiated and signed to end the war in eastern Ukraine. Just 7 years later, Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Diplomat Johannes Regen­brecht was involved in the negoti­a­tions and analyses what lessons can be learned.

Georgia’s democracy is on the brink of collapse following the fraud­ulent parlia­mentary elections in October 2024 and the violent crackdown by the ruling regime under the Georgian Dream party. In his policy brief, Sergi Kapanadze analyses how the country’s pro-European course has been derailed by systematic election manip­u­lation and repression. His analysis includes concrete recom­men­da­tions for the inter­na­tional community and a call to act now.

The future of Europe is at stake in the face of Russian aggression. Germany and Poland should undertake a joint effort for a new European Russia policy, finding common ground despite their entrenched differ­ences. A new start can arise from shared insight and interests, if there is political will.

The Ukrainian energy system is at the brink of collapse. Expert Oleksandr Vizir makes concrete proposals and outlines a plan to save the energy infra­structure of the country. Measures include rapid devel­opment of new gener­ation capac­ities as well as controlling state energy companies.

Despite Chancellor Scholz’ Zeiten­wende, Germany’s actions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been dominated by hesitancy. The government often acts only when the situation on the battle­field is dramatic – or waits for decisions from Washington. Berlin seemingly hopes for an eventual ceasefire. But this only raises the threat of an “eternal provi­sional arrangement”, similar to the Cold War-era division of Germany, writes Nico Lange.

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine also has far-reaching conse­quences for Moldova. Security expert Dumitru Minzarari analyzes the effects of Russian propa­ganda, political impli­ca­tions of the war in the run-up to the presi­dential elections, and the obstacles on the path to EU integration.

France’s position towards Russia has been ambivalent for decades, based in part on myths, projec­tions and unreal­istic ambitions. Emmanuel Macron’s policies vis-à-vis Moscow seem to embody this. At the beginning...

In December 2024, the EU made a geopo­litical decision and granted Georgia EU candidate status. In his policy brief, Sergi Kapanadze analyses what leverage the EU has to promote EU integration in Georgia and what signif­i­cance the upcoming parlia­mentary elections have in this regard.

Ukraine’s new law “On Amending Certain Laws of Ukraine with Regard to the Recon­struction and Green Trans­for­mation of the Energy System of Ukraine” opens up many oppor­tu­nities for the expansion of decen­tralised energy gener­ation and contributes to greater energy security. In his policy paper, Ukrainian energy law expert Oleksandr Vizir describes what this means for munic­i­pal­ities and what regulatory changes are needed to realise this potential.

Biomethane is an important element on the path to climate neutrality — thus the demand is great in Germany. This paper describes the potential that lies in the German-Ukrainian biomethane cooper­ation — and how existing hurdles can be overcome.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its attempt to destroy Europe’s post-Cold War security order have triggered a series of crises that constitute the conti­nent’s most severe upheavals in more...

It is remarkable that Ukraine is making progress in imple­menting 7 EU Commission prior­ities despite Russia’s ongoing war of aggression. In his policy brief, Leonid Litra empha­sises why the EU enlargement and deepening process should take place simul­ta­ne­ously and argues why the EU should start accession negoti­a­tions with Ukraine this year.

On the 8th of November the European Commission will for the first time ever present an enlargement report with recom­men­da­tions on Georgia. A few weeks later, the European Council will take a political decision on whether Georgia will be granted candidate status or will have to wait until autumn 2024. In his policy brief, Ivane Chkhik­vadze analyses the current state of EU reforms and makes concrete recom­men­da­tions for action.

The Moldovan expert, Denis Cenusa, analyses in his polcy brief that the Republic of Moldova has made progress in imple­menting the 9 prior­ities of the EU Commission, but also points out the obstacles and short­comings, especially in the area of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. Never­theless, he recom­mends that, given the geopo­litical and strategic reasons, the EU should start accession negoti­a­tions with Ukraine and Moldova as well as with Georgia in December 2023.

How have relations between Ukraine and the EU developed one and a half years after Ukraine was granted the EU candidate country status? What are the prospects for 2024? A policy paper by Miriam Kosmehl, Iryna Solonenko, Susan Stewart, Liubov Akulenko, Piotr Buras and Snizhana Diachenko.

What oppor­tu­nities, problems and solutions do Ukrainian energy experts see for the sustainable recon­struction of their country’s energy system? The policy paper “Ukraine’s Path Towards a Sustainable Energy Sector” summarises the results of our survey study and describes policy recommendations.

Ukraine is fighting for its national survival and for its future as part of a united Europe, the transat­lantic alliance and the Free World. Europe and the United States must help...

In response to the Russian invasion and the attacks on the energy infra­structure, Ukraine’s government has priori­tised energy decen­tral­i­sation as one of the direc­tions for improving energy security and resilience. The author of the brief, Oleksii Romanov, covers the current state of the industry and the stimu­lation system, analyses the plans for reforming this system, drafts the principles to guide future policy and the potential areas of German-Ukrainian cooper­ation for the decen­tral­i­sation of Ukraine’s energy system.

This policy brief gives an overview of the current state of the Ukrainian energy system and the challenges that emerged because of the war, but also the chances for the sustainable recon­struction of the energy sector. In order to modernise the economy on a sustainable basis Ukraine needs signif­icant private invest­ments. At the same time, the large-scale recon­struction of the energy sector offers oppor­tu­nities for German and EU companies to partic­ipate in the “green” devel­opment of the Ukrainian economy.

In this policy paper, Alisa Muzergues and Pavel Havlíček analyse the multi­lateral formats and cooper­a­tions in Central and Eastern Europe in which Ukraine partic­i­pates — or aspires to participate.

What are the EU’s options regarding Ukraine’s integration into the European Defence Union? What measures are relevant for security on the ground? Iulian Romanyshyn explores these questions in the new LibMod policy paper.

The EU wants to promote the rule of law in Ukraine, but what external measures are needed to achieve this and what are the Ukrainian realities? This is analyzed by Maryna Rabinovych in the LibMod policy paper.

Russia Policies and Zeiten­wende: The Change We Need

The EU must become an autonomous foreign policy actor and use its enlargement policy to address the challenges posed by Russia’s aggression. A Policy Paper by Laure Delcour and Kataryna Wolczuk.

The war in Ukraine is putting the future of Russia more and more in our hands. A decisive victory of Ukraine makes an end to the Putin regime more likely. The West needs to prepare for this moment because it may offer a short oppor­tunity to encourage the country to embark on a more democ­ratic and law-abinding path, writes Maria Domanska.

Putin has turned Russia into a dicta­torship, but the country is by no means destined to be a dark imperi­al­istic power. The Free World needs to support Russia’s next attempt for democ­ratic change instead of snubbing it, writes Vladimir Milov.

Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has changed the geopo­litical realities in Europe, spelling the end to Russia’s position as Europe’s most important energy supplier. As a result, today Russia has the dubious distinction of being the most sanctioned nation in the world’s history.

French policy towards Russia was based on self-serving delusions that led to dangerous failures and exacer­bated Putin’s paranoia. The West needs to overhaul its policies and build a strong security system in Europe and beyond.

Poland’s complex relationship with Russia is deeply inter­twined with Germany and Ukraine, Janusz Reiter writes.

Germany’s decades-long policy of political partnership with Russia is in tatters — instead of a friendly democ­ratic country it got an aggressive dicta­torship. To avoid future failures, we need strength and resilience, writes Ulrich Speck.

The US tried to integrate Russia with the liberal inter­na­tional order, but Putin destroyed the basis for cooper­ation by disman­teling democracy and seeking domination of his neighbors, writes Dan Fried.

Oil and gas revenues continue to fill the Russian war chest. In order to damage the Russian economy severely, a drop in the supply of products for the IT sector would...

In the LibMod Policy Paper: Assessment of progress in the fight against corruption in the EU-associated states of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, our author Dr. Khatia Kikalishvili argues that insufficient...

In the LibMod-Policy-Paper: Towards a European Climate Diplomacy, Dr. Georg Zachmann analyses the extension of the European Green Deal to the three associated states of the EU (Ukraine, Georgia and the...

The analytical paper “Investment plans of the EU: oppor­tu­nities for Ukraine in the area of the European Green Deal imple­men­tation” identifies the most important spheres of involvement for the Ukrainian...

The paper ‘From status quo to status reform: Accountable Gover­nance in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova’ argues that greater priority should be attached to the rule of law and democ­ratic governance...

In the LibMod policy paper: “The Eastern Partner­ship’s Missing Security Dimension” Gustav C. Gressel analyses the precarious security situation in the three EU associate countries and sheds light on EU...

Many EU capitals regard Belarus as an extension of Russia and take little interest in it. EU leaders are also uncom­fortable dealing with its long-time autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenka. Such...