Then, there’s China. As Beijing and Moscow draw closer, the EU should start using economic leverage — whether by tightening investment screening or threatening targeted export freezes on dual-use goods. Europe’s diplomacy should also continue to expose the contradiction between China’s stated respect for sovereignty and its indulgence of Putin’s imperial revanchism.
Next, there’s the battle of narratives. Russia’s information warfare may be cheap, but it’s effective, flooding airwaves with lies, fueling discontent and manipulating debate. Meanwhile, Europe’s response has been fragmented and timid. This should end.
The bloc needs a real strategic communications capacity to empower initiatives like EUvsDisinfo, support independent media in vulnerable regions, and work in local languages. The message? Democracy, self-determination and sovereignty aren’t Western concepts. They’re universal principles — and Russia tramples them.
Finally, the EU needs to deepen its regional engagement in order to crowd out Russia’s influence.
In the Western Balkans, this means rewarding reformers and punishing obstructionists, possibly in smaller groups of the willing if there’s no bloc-wide consensus. In the Southern Mediterranean, it means cooperating with Turkey to resolve conflicts that Russia exploits. In Africa, it means pivoting from crisis response to truly becoming the oft-claimed “partner of choice” by investing in joint efforts on infrastructure, education and critical raw materials, while backing the continent’s agency in global governance forums. And in the Indo-Pacific, it means playing to Europe’s strengths as a reliable partner that’s open to trade and collaboration on the issues and challenges that will shape the future: cyber, AI and clean tech.
In all these regions, the EU must also go beyond the circles already familiar with it, such as governments and businesses, and invest in building ties with civil society and future leaders.
