Europe’s China policy is being rewritten by events it does not control. This report maps the geopolitical forces pushing Brussels from naïve engagement toward guarded competition, and exposes how slow, divided and reactive the shift remains. As rivalry hardens, Europe talks tougher but still struggles to turn awareness into leverage.

A report by Sofia Romansky, a strategic analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), assesses the influence of AI on the military domain. According to the author, the acceleration provided by AI will be a crucial decision-making advantage for commanders in the battlefield.

In a RUSI report, experts Elijah Glantz and Dr. Pia Hüsch analyze the establishment of the UK National Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Policing (Police.AI). The authors discuss the technological risks: outdated databases, incompatible systems, and past projects’ failures. Yet the key threats stay beyond the discussion.

Anthropic PBC, a U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) startup, recently found Chinese State‑sponsored hackers to have manipulated Claude Code, an Anthropic AI orchestration tool, in order to carry out a sophisticated cyber espionage campaign targeting some 30 organizations worldwide.

On 8 February 2026, the Middle East Eye website posted an article by Marco Carnelos, a former Italian diplomat who had mainly served in the Middle East. The publication analyzes the causes and consequences of a speech made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the 2026 forum in Davos and shows the context of the global processes and the possible consequences of the changes.

The commentary dissects Emmanuel Macron’s latest defence spending commitments and finds a familiar French pattern – bold announcements masking hard questions left unanswered. Paris talks about resolve, leadership and strategic autonomy. The paper argues that behind the headline figures sit delivery risks, budget trade-offs and capability gaps that money alone will not fix.

In February 2026, the German Council on Foreign Relations published an article entitled Global Reordering, German Responses. Its authors, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff and Dr. Kira Vinke, analyze Germany’s role and place in the contemporary world where three global superpowers are building their spheres of influence.

The analysis takes aim at one of Europe’s proudest achievements and finds it stuck in a loop of constant tinkering with diminishing returns. The single market is endlessly “restarted,” updated and expanded on paper, yet its core problems remain stubbornly unresolved. The piece argues that Europe has mistaken perpetual reform for real integration, and the costs are piling up.

Mark Leonard, co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, has published an article in which he examines the political phenomenon of the ‘new right’. Some believe them to be people nostalgic for the past, but the author concludes it is no longer the case.

On 4 February 2026, an article by Frederick Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, was published on the Council’s website.

The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (London) has published on their web site an article entitled “New START Expiry: Implications for Europe” by Senior Research Fellows Darya Dolzikova​ and Dr Sidharth Kaushal. It was published on the day when the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expired.

In practice, European countries responded to Russia’s war against Ukraine very differently. Reality has shown that the states in the north and east were much more determined regarding this matter than those in the south of Europe.

Emmanuel Macron went to Beijing talking about dialogue and reset. This commentary suggests the reality was far less impressive. France wants a fresh start with China, but arrives weakened, divided and short on leverage. The visit exposed ambition without clout and a strategy still stuck between commerce and caution.