Steven Blockmans
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stevenblockmans.bsky.social
Steven Blockmans
@stevenblockmans.bsky.social
Wider Europe, rules-based international order, security & defence

Senior Fellow @CEPS.eu & @ICDS-tallinn.bsky.social
Visiting Professor at @collegeofeurope.bsky.social
Editor-in-Chief @EFAReview.bsky.social
Project Coordinator @REUNIR.bsky.social
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
Turkey has become one of the most active middle powers navigating a fragmenting global order. 🇹🇷

In their new policy brief, guest authors Jeffery Mankoff and @muhdansaglam.bsky.social outline how the US and Europe can strengthen cooperation with Turkey.

Read it here: www.ceps.eu/ceps-publica...
November 5, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
🚨New #Blog

Moldova’s New Beginning: Lessons from Russia’s Hybrid Interference and a Test for Democratic Resilience

✍Iulian Groza, Executive Director, Institutul pentru Politici și Reforme Europene (IPRE)

🌐Read the full blog on our website: reunir-horizon.eu/moldovas-new...

@horizoneu.bsky.social
November 3, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
#REUNIR #Confessionals
In this edition, 🇦🇱's Ambassador to the 🇪🇺Ferit Hoxha, shares his reflections on the key external threats facing Albania today - and how resilience and progress toward EU accession remain deeply interconnected. 🇪🇺🇦🇱

@horizoneu.bsky.social

More: reunir-horizon.eu/reunir-confe...
October 22, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
We are live (streaming): www.ceps.eu/ceps-events/...

with DG Koopman 🇪🇺 and Ambassadors of Albania 🇦🇱, Kosovo 🇽🇰, Moldova 🇲🇩, Montenegro 🇲🇪, Ukraine 🇺🇦
October 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
#Lawfare: Many advanced weapons systems rely on rare-earth elements, incl. F-35 fighter jets, radar systems, Predator UAVs, the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of smart bombs, and Tomahawk missiles, which Trump is considering sending to Ukraine.

www.rferl.org/a/33558748.h...
From Ukraine To Central Asia, The Broad Impact Of China's Latest Rare Earth Restrictions
From weapons manufacturing to stepped up prospecting for rare earths reserves, the ripple effects of Beijing's latest export controls on the minerals will be wide.
www.rferl.org
October 15, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
One more of our trusted partners falls victim to the Georgian Dream’s increasing repression. As an independent policy research institution sharing GIP’s democratic values, @ceps.eu stands with its Georgian colleagues

civil.ge/archives/703...
GIP, Georgia’s Key Think Tank, Halts Work Citing Repression, Loss of Mission - Civil Georgia
The Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP), a leading Tbilisi-based think tank established in 2011, an
civil.ge
October 3, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
The ability to manage and resolve disputes is not merely a technical requirement for EU enlargement but increasingly a strategic necessity in a more conflicted geopolitical environment.

📄 New report by Steven Blockmans and Butrint Berisha.

@stevenblockmans.bsky.social @butrintberisha.bsky.social
From Stalemate to Solution: Rethinking EU Approaches to Bilateral Disputes in the Context of Enlargement - ICDS
Although Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has given new momentum to the European Union’s enlargement process, further progress is being hindered by unresolved bilateral disputes.
icds.ee
October 1, 2025 at 1:20 PM
With references to my recent @ceps.eu policy brief with Michael Emerson on how to radically simplify and streamline the EU enlargement process

👉 www.ceps.eu/ceps-publica...
October 1, 2025 at 1:20 PM
VDL has promised to widen the ‘simplification’ agenda to other policy areas. With various forms of ‘gradual integration’, her Commission has gone the opposite way, adding administrative burden to an already long and cumbersome process.

Here’s a proposal to radically simplify EU enlargement 👇
ceps.eu CEPS @ceps.eu · Sep 24
While the 🇪🇺 enlargement process has seen the implementation of a new ‘gradual integration’ concept, these developments have left the core formal accession procedure unchanged.

Here's what Michael Emerson & @stevenblockmans.bsky.social propose to simplify and streamline accession 👉 bit.ly/46lz5r0
September 25, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
#REUNIRBlog

🇲🇩 In a new op-ed, Iulian Groza (IPRE - Institutul pentru Politici și Reforme Europene) highlights how civil society, independent media, and state institutions are working together to safeguard democratic integrity.

👉 Read more: reunir-horizon.eu/op-ed-moldov...

@horizoneu.bsky.social
September 23, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
Can international organisations be both effective and robust — or must one always come at the expense of the other?

Read about the trade-offs IOs must navigate to deliver results while remaining resilient to existential challenges: www.ensuredeurope.eu/publications
September 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Noting that Von der Leyen’s drive to simplify EU regulations and governance is an open-ended commitment, Michael Emerson and I advocate that the Commission takes up the enlargement process as a next case of application. Via @ceps.eu

www.ceps.eu/ceps-publica...
How to radically simplify and streamline the EU enlargement process – CEPS
Over the last year the EU’s enlargement process has seen the implementation of a new ‘gradual integration’ concept, allowing for some modest elements of single
www.ceps.eu
September 20, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
📢 We are launching a new Task Force on a European Pillar within NATO with @rusi.bsky.social, Clingendael and the Institute for European Policymaking of Bocconi University.

It will bring together experts to define practical steps for strengthening Europe’s defence readiness.

👉 bit.ly/4mGWJnr
September 4, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
Caught between an aggressive Russia and a disengaging US, Europe is ramping up its defence spending. But is it enough to deter Russia? Does the EU need new competences to turbocharge defence procurement & build a stronger defence industry?

📅 Join us on Wednesday to discuss it! bit.ly/4g3GyOC
September 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
"Enlargement must be a reward for sustained reform, not an instrument of short-term political engineering."

Pushing Moldova’s EU bid before September’s election is understandable, but decoupling it from Ukraine would be a mistake, argues Steven Blockmans.

@stevenblockmans.bsky.social
Moldova Should Not Be Decoupled from Ukraine in EU Accession - ICDS
Member states are currently considering putting Moldova ahead of Ukraine on the track to join the European Union. While the desire to secure Moldova’s EU trajectory ahead of parliamentary elections at...
icds.ee
August 21, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
Russia’s war against Ukraine has transformed the security situation in Europe. One consequence is that EU enlargement is once again a top priority.

In a new SIEPS publication, leading experts discuss what it takes to achieve peace, security and stability in Europe by enlarging the EU.
Perspectives on enlargement and reform of the EU: Fit for 35
Eight leading experts discuss how to achieve peace, security and stability in Europe by enlarging the EU.
sieps.se
August 20, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Psychologically, will this forced appeasement finally push Europe to take itself seriously as a geopolitical power, or will it instead entrench European division and dependence? The signs are not very promising.

on.ft.com/4l7amea
Europe’s summer of humiliation
America knew the EU was weak. The rest of the world knows it now
on.ft.com
July 31, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
Madalina Dobrescu, Associate Professor of European Studies at NTNU explores:

❓ What are the key challenges & opportunities for the EU in strengthening its engagement with Moldova & broader EN in current geopolitical climate?

Watch here: reunir-horizon.eu/reunir-mid-t...
@horizoneu.bsky.social
July 22, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
In this video, Prof. Dr. Laure Delcour, Associate Professor at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, discusses:

How can the the EU better align its normative agenda with geopolitical imperatives in Eastern Europe?

Watch here: reunir-horizon.eu/reunir-mid-t...

@horizoneu.bsky.social #REUNIR
July 18, 2025 at 9:14 AM
More powerful than the previous open letter, these fmr EUDs are not mincing their words:

Silence and neutrality in the face of genocide constitute complicity. Inaction emboldens perpetrators and betrays every principle the Union and its member states claim to uphold.

euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
Open letter from 34 ex-EU ambassadors: 'Act now against Israel'
An open letter by 34 former European Union ambassadors calling for immediate and effective measures against Israel’s unlawful actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
euobserver.com
July 23, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
We’re continuing our video series from #REUNIR Mid-Term Conference in Tbilisi

In this video, Jelena Pejic Nikic, @bezbednost.bsky.social discusses:

What role does public perception play in the pace of democratic reforms in the WB?

Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML0Z...
@horizoneu.bsky.social
July 17, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
📌 Expert insights from 2nd Mid-Term Conference in Tbilisi. In our 1st video, @fbieber.bsky.social answers the question:

❓ What lessons from the Western Balkans can be applied to the EU’s approach toward its Eastern neighbours?

@horizoneu.bsky.social

Watch here: reunir-horizon.eu/reunir-mid-t...
July 15, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
In this video, Prof. Dr. Hylke Dijkstra, Prof. of International Security &Cooperation, Maastricht University,answers the question:

What’s the biggest challenge for aligning EU strategies with the realities of candidate countries?

Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0_2...

@horizoneu.bsky.social
July 16, 2025 at 6:27 AM
“The [HRs] must be careful, because one day they could be tried by the [ICC] for complicity in genocide. I can assure you that we will not stop; we have embarked on a long journey", said Alfonso Dorado, French criminal lawyer, advisor to the ICC.
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
Lawyers file case against EU Commission and Council for 'failure to act' on Gaza genocide
Lawyers specialising in international law will file an “action for failure to act” with the European Court of Justice on Thursday for the inaction of the EU Commission and Council in the massacres per...
euobserver.com
July 15, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by Steven Blockmans
My thoughts in the FT on the agreements with France last week and this week’s Treaty with Germany. The Brexit shadow has lifted from UK bilateral relations in Europe. 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪are now clearly in the lead in weaning Europe off over-dependence on the US. It will be a long haul. www.ft.com/content/fb29...
The resurrection of the London-Paris-Berlin triangle
In the face of geopolitical instability, close trilateral relations are essential
www.ft.com
July 14, 2025 at 2:06 PM