Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 10h

💊🚗 #Pharma prowess has become a major lever of power and prestige. But as with the #EV industry, Europe risks being overtaken by #China on drug development and production if it doesn't shift gears now. What lessons can be learned?

🔗 shorturl.at/8tMCF

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 2d

🚨 On 6 November, BIG welcomes Sir Nick Clegg for the Brussels launch of his new book, 'How to Save the Internet: The Threat to Global Connection in the Age of AI and Political Conflict'.

Join us! ➡️🔗 Info and registration: shorturl.at/pc8DP

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 6d

🖥️🌍 The EU and its partners share a quest for greater digital independence from China and the US. As Day Two of the #GlobalGateway Forum gets underway in Brussels, Sabine Muscat writes for BIG on how a compelling, just European tech offer to the Global South should take shape.

🔗 shorturl.at/XjQUF

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 7d

It's not foreseen, but we'll be publishing a summary on our website in the days after!

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 14d

As Copenhagen's summit week concludes, disruptive #drone incursions set the tone and brought Moscow's hybrid war to #EUCO. We asked @rynning.bsky.social about the significance of the operation, how the continent should respond, and the view from #Denmark.

🔗 shorturl.at/S6koq

@d-ias.bsky.social

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 15d

⛽ Once hailed as 'molecules of freedom', US oil and gas now expose the EU to the whims of the White House.

As #EUCO meets today with a ban on Russian LNG on their agenda, @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social argues that #energy independence lies not in a new supplier, but a new path.

🔗 shorturl.at/Ww3D5

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 22d

📖 Our latest report by @luukvmiddelaar.bsky.social and Antoine Michon unpacks the EPC's staying power, how it could develop, and what its emergence means for the other actors on the stage - particularly the EU.

🔗 Read the full report: big-europe.eu/publications...

Continental diplomacy for a new era - The European Political Community from Prague to Copenhagen

big-europe.eu

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 22d

❓ Is the European Political Community quietly becoming a new pillar of Europe's geopolitical governance?

That's the BIG idea we discussed yesterday with Her Excellency Daniela Morari, Ambassador of #Moldova to the EU, and a host of other esteemed guests, ahead of the 7th #EPC summit on 2 October.

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · 27d

🚨🎧 Your weekend listen is here.

🎙️ In this episode of Handing Over the Mic, we hear from Vera Songwe – economist and leader in development, finance and policy – on Africa’s evolving relationship with Europe and the world economy.

Listen here ⤵️
Spotify: shorturl.at/hcrVI
Apple: shorturl.at/ok7FQ

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Sep 16

📱 ‘In the #digital arena, the #EU is still playing a rules-based version of nobody-gets-hurt judo, whereas the other major players have shifted to something more like mixed martial arts.’

In this BIG essay, @dmugge.bsky.social defends European self-determination in an age of digital imperialism. ⤵️

Time for the gloves to come off in digital policy

big-europe.eu

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Sep 11

We extend our warmest congratulations to BIG's Advisory Council member Kajsa Ollongren as she takes up this exciting new role with Europe's values firmly at its heart. 👏

Kajsa Ollongren @kajsaollongren.bsky.social · Sep 11

Honoured to serve as EUSR for Human Rights. Outlined some thoughts on my new role while on mission in Geneva. What do you think I should focus on? 💡

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 25

🌍 Mapping Geopolitics: The ‘Trump Effect’

Since Trump’s return, EU trust in the US has plunged, from 47% to 29% in just 6 months.

🇩🇰 Denmark saw the biggest drop, while 🇷🇴 Romania & 🇧🇬 Bulgaria stayed positive.

big-europe.eu/publications...

Europe cools towards the US (but not everywhere all of the time): The ‘Trump Effect’

big-europe.eu

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 25

🇨🇳 In 1989, Wang Dan led student protests in Tiananmen Square. “We had no blueprint, only hope.”

As part of BIG's #Project1989, he reflects on that moment, civil society and the struggle for democracy in China and beyond.

🔗 Read the full interview here:
shorturl.at/McBcl

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 24

🌍 As the EU-China summit unfolds in Beijing as we speak, BIG retraces the ancient Silk Road from Rome.

Once a main artery of trade culture, we explore if it is still possible to walk these paths with modern geopolitical roadblocks

🔗 the full map: shorturl.at/O0tJK

#china #summit #eu #geopolitics

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 24

💬 ‘Hunched forward, with mirrored posture, Trump and Zelensky huddle deep in conversation'

📷 In BIG's first photo essay, we how a seemingly impromptu photograph taken before Pope Francis’s funeral service currently stands as the most significant geopolitical image of 2025.

Read: shorturl.at/7J6YV

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 23

🇪🇺🇨🇳 On the eve of the EU–China summit, Ties Dams asks: Can Europe earn great power recognition? or is it still caught between U.S. decline and China's rise? 50 years after the genesis of EU-China relations, the stakes are just as high

🔗 big-europe.eu/publications...

#EU #China #Geopolitics #Summit

The EU–China Summit: Past and Present

big-europe.eu

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 22

‘On the European continent, ‘civilization’ is almost considered a dirty word...'

🇪🇺🇨🇳With the EU-China summit fast approaching in the next few days, can historical identity become a form of soft power in today’s geopolitical order?

Read more here:
big-europe.eu/publications...

China, civilization and political discourse

big-europe.eu

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jul 11

Delighted to present BIG’s ‘Green Realpolitik: Recasting Europe’s Climate and Energy Diplomacy’ by @thijsvandegraaf.bsky.social

A clear-sighted look at what’s at stake as Europe attempts to carry forward its climate and energy agenda into a new geopolitical era.
big-europe.eu/publications...

Green Realpolitik: Recasting Europe’s Climate and Energy Diplomacy

big-europe.eu

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 25

Russia disregards Europe at its peril, warns BIG's Claude-France Arnould.

As the NATO summit ends in The Hague, she explores centuries of conflict and why Moscow tends to underestimate Europe ⬇️
big-europe.eu/publications...

Russia disregards Europe at its peril

big-europe.eu

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 23

Joshua Livestro traces Europe’s federal tradition from Machiavelli to Monnet—arguing it’s rooted not in ideals but geostrategic necessity: unity for power, not just peace. A resilient way to frame the EU narrative as we head into the #NATOsummit with big challenges ahead.

shorturl.at/F83GR

Revisiting Europe’s Intellectual Foundations for the Geopolitical Age

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Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 19

📝 Writing for BIG, author Ophélie Coelho outlines the need for Europe to carve a path to digital independence, away from the United States and China.

Does Europe have the infrastructure to accomplish total digital sovereignty?

Read more here: shorturl.at/9zCu8

The Race for Europe’s Digital Future

shorturl.at

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 19

🔊 Is Europe still the centre of culture?

New Handing Over the Mic ep features Louma Salamé, director of the Boghossian Foundation, in conversation with Christine Mhundwa & Elisa Díaz Gras.

From Louvre Abu Dhabi to Doha’s Mathaf, we explore how artistic dialogue can foster a diplomatic impact

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 18

Mapping Geopolitics

South Africa’s ICJ case has triggered political and legal rifts. A new research map on our website shows how countries are aligning

big-europe.eu/publications/2025-06-13-the-un-convention-on-genocide-and-the-gaza-war-legal-responsibility-in-a-fractured-international-order

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 17

‘1989 wasn't the real beginning’

Hubert Védrine is a French diplomat and was the diplomatic advisor for President François Mitterrand in 1989.

We spoke to him about the shifts that occurred in Europe before the fall of the Berlin wall.

Read more below:
big-europe.eu/publications...

Hubert Védrine: ‘1989 wasn't the real beginning. The true departure point was much earlier’

big-europe.eu

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics @bigeurope.bsky.social · Jun 17

"We had no clear roadmap for reunification.”

In the weeks leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Joachim Bitterlich served as West Germany’s foreign & security policy advisor to Chancellor Kohl.

Read our full interview with him as part of Project 1989 below:
big-europe.eu/publications...

Joachim Bitterlich: ‘We had no clear roadmap for reunification’

big-europe.eu