Editorial

In our special issue for the Munich Security Conference 2026 we focus on how the continent can survive and thrive in the era of the “Trump doctrine.”

The US capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro with the intention of “running” the country is only the latest event in which Europeans have been forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines. This needs to change.

Europeans are feeling the “ground shifting beneath them,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said recently. In response, the EU needs to get better at safeguarding its economic security.

The United States is now actively destroying the global order it created. The immediate consequences will make for a more dangerous and unstable world, but it may well lead to a more multilateral order eventually supplanting it.

The United States is turning into an unreliable ally for Europe. Increasing dependence on China in response, however, would not be a good idea.

In our special issue for the Munich Security Conference 2025 we focus on how to address the continent’s urgent defense tasks.

The “historic turn” Chancellor Olaf Scholz described in 2022 is ongoing—and far more encompassing and consequential than many in Europe continue to assume. Donald Trump’s re-election as US president requires a fundamental rethink.

Europe’s defense and security should be the number one issue for those countries that form “NATO’s European pillar” as well as those in the European Union. It is time to pull out all the stops to bolster the continent’s military capabilities.

Franco-German relations have been rocky of late, but recently, they seemed to have taken a turn for the better. If France’s parliament is now conquered by the far right or becomes deadlocked, that relationship is likely to become even more deeply fractured. 

The European Parliament elections in June will be the most consequential yet.

2024 should be the year that sees both Brussels and Berlin start merging geopolitics with strategic thinking.

The process of EU enlargement and reform is starting in earnest. The Europeans need to seize the opportunity to make the European Union fit for the 21st century.