Europe built its prosperity on openness. Now that openness is being turned into a weapon. ISPI argues that trade, investment, technology, energy and supply chains have become instruments of geopolitical pressure as the US and China compete and the rules-based trading system weakens.

France has spent 25 years measuring weaknesses in its schools – without finding a convincing way to reverse them. Institut Montaigne argues that PISA 2025 should not become another burst of national alarm followed by another round of reforms and another three years of drift.

The EU’s next budget could be agreed – and still be thrown into turmoil by one powerful member state. DGAP warns that a future French government challenging EU contributions could exploit national ratification rules, demand a rebate or, in the most extreme scenario, simply withhold part of France’s payments.

Washington is pushing Europe towards a security order in which America carries less of the burden. Geopolitical Futures sees US negotiations with Moscow over Ukraine and demands for Europeans to defend themselves as parts of the same strategic shift – responsibility is moving back towards regional powers.

Europe survived a bruising year of transatlantic confrontation, but EUISS warns against believing America’s midterm elections will bring the old relationship back. Washington challenged European allies over Greenland, threatened NATO troop withdrawals and piled pressure on the EU over trade and digital regulation.

Europe still talks like a rule-maker in a world increasingly shaped by bargaining, competing powers and countries determined to choose their own partners. DIIS argues that the shift to multipolarity is exposing a serious weakness in European foreign policy – the assumption that European priorities and values will automatically carry universal authority.

Europe creates innovative companies but is struggling to keep them when they need serious money to grow. CER’s policy brief finds a stock-market system losing ground to the US – fragmented exchanges, weak equity investment and too few large companies capable of delivering heavyweight IPOs.