Rym Momtaz is the editor in chief of Carnegie Europe’s blog Strategic Europe. A multiple Emmy award-winning journalist-turned-analyst, she specializes in Europe and the Middle East and the interplay between those two spaces. She has particular expertise on French foreign and defense policy, European geopolitics, and the transatlantic relationship. Among her publications is an analysis of French President Emmanuel Macron’s conception of the European security order.
Most recently Rym was a consultant research fellow for European security and foreign policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. There, she co-led a two-year study on strategic competition in the Eastern Mediterranean, drawing on her cross-sectional expertise in Europe and the Levant, including the conflicts between Israel, the Palestinians, Lebanon, and Iran.
Prior to that, Rym was a senior correspondent in France for POLITICO Europe where, between 2019 and 2022, she covered Emmanuel Macron's foreign and European policy, with unrivalled access. She wrote agenda-setting articles like “The Macron Method,” “Emmanuel Macron's Russian Roulette,” and “Emmanuel Macron, Think Tanker-In-Chief.” She was also co-host of POLITICO Europe's weekly EU Confidential podcast on European politics and is a regular foreign affairs analyst on French television.
Between 2011 and 2019, she spent nearly eight years as a producer at ABC News, based in New York and London, focusing on investigative journalism, and covering Islamist terrorism in Europe, ISIS, and the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Rym also has government experience at the United Nations Security Council. In 2010 and 2011, during Lebanon's tenure as a non-permanent member, she served as special assistant to the Lebanese permanent representative and took part in high-level negotiations, including over the international armed intervention in Libya.
European officials have long stressed the need for the continent to take charge of its own security and end geopolitical outsourcing to the United States. But does Europe have the means—and the will—to finally reduce its dependence on Washington?
Despite lofty declarations of support, Ukraine’s main backers are increasingly focused on laying the groundwork for Kyiv’s negotiations with Moscow. Instead of ensuring sustainable security in Europe, the compromises under discussion would embolden Russia and China.
The Lebanese Armed Forces have a critical role to play in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East. By scaling up assistance for the army, Europeans can effect change on the ground and make Lebanon a proof of concept for geopolitical Europe.
Last week, the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, and the United States met to discuss support for Ukraine and other security issues. But is this format still relevant and representative of the key actors in today’s geostrategic context?
Germany was one of five EU member states to oppose the introduction of EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. What does this move say about Germany’s and Europe’s strategies toward Beijing?
Europe’s financial, diplomatic, and military power could help create the conditions for a sequenced de-escalation in Lebanon. It is also a chance for Europe to prove its ability to act independently of the United States outside the European continent.
The EU’s defense commissioner could address the fragmentation of Europe’s defense industry and enhance cooperation with NATO. But limited resources, member states’ reluctance, and institutional frictions may hinder progress.
The world is heading into a period where foundational rules once taken for granted no longer apply. The EU urgently needs to emerge from its peace dividend softness and build a power model that allows it to shape new alliances and deter adversaries.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently appointed Michel Barnier as the country's new prime minister. What are the key takeaways and implications of this decision? Rym Momtaz, Editor in Chief of Strategic Europe, discusses.
