The upcoming EU-Western Balkans Summit in Montenegro will test whether the European Union can turn geopolitical urgency into credible enlargement policy, writes Serbian politician and diplomat Goran Svilanović. He contends that integrating the Western Balkans is now a strategic necessity amid great power competition and growing uncertainty in transatlantic relations.
At the start of the new year, members of the European Leadership Network’s senior and younger-generation leaders’ networks offer their perspectives on their defining issue or policy trend to watch in 2026.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increases nuclear risks and represents a major setback for multilateral nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament diplomacy. To mitigate the risk of nuclear escalation, the P5 must demonstrate to the international community that they stand behind their joint affirmation that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
The recent P5 affirmation that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought” as well as the incorporation of strategic risk reduction into the nuclear doctrines and dialogues working group are impactful and are welcome first measures. The P5 must now build on this momentum to discuss a substantive programme of work which must will lead to the implementation of concrete risk reduction measures within the eleventh review cycle.
Network members share their views on the joint statement of the leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States, Jan 2022.
On the eve of the tenth Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, the P5 should establish a regular, open-ended and sustained dialogue process on strategic risk reduction to improve the international security environment.