Recalibrating Europe’s security: Building partnerships in an era of “wrecking-ball politics”

The era of Western predominance, dependable alliances and capable multilateral institutions has given way to shifting balances of power and deepening uncertainty. Few actors face this shift as acutely as the European Union (EU). The central challenge for the EU is not how to defend a familiar system but how to remain secure and relevant in an unfamiliar one, with the ability to shape what lies ahead. This paper addresses four important areas in which Europe must revise outdated assumptions to navigate the new emerging order: critical economic dependencies, European defence, democracy in the age of AI and international alliances. The EU’s most important task is to turn its apparent weaknesses into a strategic advantage. The very rules and slow, technical procedures often criticised for slowing the Union down can also make it predictable, fostering trust and reliability. As Washington reduces relations to short-lived transactions and Beijing weaponises them, the EU can credibly promise partners something rarer: commitments that outlast any single election or summit.