This programme looks at the security environment in the Euro-Atlantic area, especially at the challenges connected with the deterioration of relations between Russia and the West. It analyses the consequences for national governments, the EU, NATO and the OSCE and offers recommendations on future policy.
The paper explores the reasons why Russian civil society institutions failed to prevent the war in Ukraine. The author suggests a number of measures that Western democracies may take together with Russian opposition leaders to end the war and establish a long-lasting peace.
In September 2022 Russia was expelled from the European Convention on Human Rights due to its invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the remaining member states of the Council of Europe have placed a greater importance on stabilising and safeguarding the European Court of Human Rights system, which currently struggles to implement its judgments and ensure compliance. Nikita Gryazin and Julia Glukhikh explore how to best improve the efficacy of the court in the face of these issues.
Former Turkish ambassadors to NATO, Ahmet Üzümcü and Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, write that there is untapped potential for closer cooperation between Turkey and the United Kingdom in the defence and security fields.
Important questions remain about future Arctic regional cooperation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Next month, Norway will take over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council from Russia and diplomatic efforts are already underway to ensure the transfer goes as smoothly as possible. Gabriella Gricius explores three possible scenarios of what this Arctic Council could look like.
The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would increase nuclear risks and undermine key nonproliferation norms, but it would not alter the strategic balance in Europe. For Russia, sharing nuclear weapons with Belarus might well backfire politically. NATO countries should therefore resist the impulse to up the nuclear ante.
Ret. Ambassador Spiros Lampridis argues that alongside the war in Ukraine, NATO will need to take a deep dive into its challenges ahead of and during this year’s Vilnius Summit.
On 27 October 2022. the European Leadership Network (ELN) convened the Contact Group on Russia-West relations via Zoom to discuss Turkey’s positioning on the war in Ukraine and resulting foreign policy relations.
On 21 July, the ELN Contact Group on Russia-West Relations met to discuss the general picture of Russia-West relations and the Ukraine war. The conversation covered specific aspects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (both current and future), questions regarding energy politics in Europe, Ukraine...
On 23 June 2022, the European Leadership Network (ELN) convened the Contact Group on Russia-West relations via Zoom to discuss the upcoming NATO summit in Madrid and what it would focus on with regard to the conflict in Ukraine. Russian and European Contact Group members shared their views on...