IPQ Summer 2026 Issue: In Search of New Partners

Editorial

Henning Hoff

In Search of New Partners

The need for Europeans to rethink their security and their continent’s place in the world is becoming more urgent. Brussels has started the process by concluding a raft of new security partnerships.

Cover Section

Jake Benford

Nicolai von Ondarza

The EU in Search of New Partners

Brussels has signed 12 security partnerships in just two years. Together, they reflect the EU’s effort to diversify its security ties beyond its traditional reliance on the United States.

Takahiro Tsuchiya

The EU’s Growing Strategic Value for Japan

As the global geopolitical environment deteriorates, Japan-EU relations have evolved from being based on shared values to a structured strategic partnership.

Swati Prabhu

The Case for Closer EU-India Cooperation

The EU and India became strategic partners more than 20 years ago and recently concluded “the mother of all trade deals.” But the relationship still lacks focus and purpose.

Agathe Demarais

Avoiding the Legacy Trap

The EU is not a middle power—yet. Failing to build the financial architecture to mobilize capital at scale and project power may well lead to it becoming an irrelevance.

Berlin Cable

Henning Hoff

There Is No New German Military Question

One year into an unprecedented, debt-financed rearmament program to catch up after decades of neglect, some warn that Berlin’s military build-up poses a new German question. That’s not the case.

Brussels Briefing

Rebecca Christie

Who Is the Swing Vote?

The EU’s search for partners as well as enlargement and institutional renewal will force Brussels to rethink its conventions of unanimity.

What Europe Thinks ...

Pawel Zerka

The EU Is Now Viewed as Distinct from the US

Global opinion polls show that views about the European Union are shifting. Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Europeans are perceived more independently from the United States.

On the Ground

Lucy Ash

Visual Tales of Suffering and Optimism

This year’s Venice Biennale has become notorious for Russia’s alleged return to the art world. But the exhibits are not even open to the public—and have been overshadowed by what Ukrainian artists have to offer.

Pariscope

Joseph de Weck

Enjoy the French Summer While You Can!

Les grandes vacances, the long summer holidays in France, are the last moment of respite before a roller-coaster four-round election cycle.

Warsaw Memo

Piotr Buras

Polish-Ukrainian Misery

Relations between Poland and Ukraine have deteriorated massively. It’s a problem for the whole of the EU; Kyiv’s closest partners need to pay more attention.

Geoeconomic Front Lines

Francesca Ghiretti

Countering China Is No Longer Optional

Europeans seem reluctant to implement trade measures against China, for fear of a trade war. They need to think hard about what they want to achieve.

The Wider View

Giorgi Gvalia

Bidzina Lebanidze

The Unipolar Delusion

US officials may have accepted the return of great power competition, but Washington continues to operate on the assumptions of unchallenged dominance.

Quarterly Concerns

Zsuzsanna Végh

Hungary’s Reset: From Sprint to Obstacle Course

The new government in Budapest has hit the ground running, quickly resetting relations with the EU and neighbors. Now comes the hard part—eliminating institutional capture, reducing dependence on Russia, and getting the economy moving again.