First Glances
Lively short-form insights
First Glances provide quick, column-length reactions to new policy developments and announcements. In some cases, they distil the essence of a research paper published in parallel.
Recent First Glances
The enlargement push-pull between geopolitical competition and EU domestic interests
A raft of reforms to the EU enlargement process pushes candidates to comply more with EU values, while removing some veto power from members
Ukraine: the new military, economic and fiscal challenges
Ukraine is suffering a more effective Russian bombardment than previously and multiple economic difficulties; its allies must offer more
Freyja and the making of a European defence industry
More structured and scaled-up defence cooperation, backed with EU funding, will benefit both Europe and Ukraine
To finance its future, Europe needs a bigger, more targeted budget
Without significant changes, the proposed European Union budget for 2028-2034 will fall far short of EU public investment needs
Europe should stop banning interest on digital money
Non-remuneration in the EU of e-money and the digital euro lacks an economic basis, burdens less-wealthy households and is increasingly circumvented
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First glance items
First Glance
07 October 2026
The enlargement push-pull between geopolitical competition and EU domestic interests
A raft of reforms to the EU enlargement process pushes candidates to comply more with EU values, while removing some veto power from members
First Glance
05 October 2026
Ukraine: the new military, economic and fiscal challenges
Ukraine is suffering a more effective Russian bombardment than previously and multiple economic difficulties; its allies must offer more
First Glance
01 October 2026
Freyja and the making of a European defence industry
More structured and scaled-up defence cooperation, backed with EU funding, will benefit both Europe and Ukraine
First Glance
30 September 2026
To finance its future, Europe needs a bigger, more targeted budget
Without significant changes, the proposed European Union budget for 2028-2034 will fall far short of EU public investment needs
First Glance
28 September 2026
Europe should stop banning interest on digital money
Non-remuneration in the EU of e-money and the digital euro lacks an economic basis, burdens less-wealthy households and is increasingly circumvented
First Glance
23 September 2026
Denmark’s diplomatic victory in Greenland
Trump’s deal with Denmark and Greenland maintains the status quo and makes independence for Greenland less likely
First Glance
16 September 2026
Europe still needs to do more to provide real artificial intelligence reassurance
European Union AI rules are built around pre-market risk assessment; more supervision and liability are also needed to deal with post-deployment harm
First Glance
08 September 2026
Europe’s climate-resilience moment has arrived
As global warming impacts are increasingly felt, the EU should turn climate adaptation from a national responsibility into a genuine European policy
First Glance
07 September 2026
Tough choices ahead as the US pushes a global artificial-intelligence divide
Though proliferation of AI models is essentially uncontrollable, the US is trying to force a split with China, pushing allies into a no-win bind
First Glance
31 August 2026
Jilted by Iceland – but Wider Europe is forming through new cooperation structures around the EU
Iceland’s rejection of EU membership talks should be seen against a backdrop of new methods of deeper collaboration, especially on security
First Glance
24 August 2026
China’s Arctic Silk Road is now a reality
While China flexes its economic muscle in partnership with Russia, the United States struggles to realise its own Arctic shipping options
First Glance
20 August 2026
The billionaire paradox
The EU should ask what it wants from globally influential tech magnates, not just how to curb them
First Glance
17 July 2026
Extending CBAM to downstream products risks undermining its credibility as a climate policy tool
The current proposals to extend CBAM's coverage are more about trade protection than stopping carbon leakage
First Glance
08 July 2026
How much has the Russian budget gained from Iran-war related higher oil prices?
Russia has gained some fiscal headroom from higher oil prices, though not enough to fully offset budgetary difficulties from the Ukraine war
First Glance
07 July 2026
German pension reform: first steps along a difficult path
Despite agreement in principle on pension reform in Germany, the country still lags some EU countries in the big decisions on system sustainability
First Glance
06 July 2026
Europe’s rearmament problem is demand, not ‘help to buy’
A proposed bank to finance defence spending does not seem designed to fix more fundamental fragmentation problems, and may even reinforce them