As the year draws to a close, experts reflect on the positives of 2024 and share their concerns for 2025.*

Through diplomatic skill and strategy, French President Macron is making a recovery after a series of domestic and international setbacks. He now has a unique opportunity to expand Europe’s margins of maneuver on the global stage.

Moscow has been dialing up its hybrid attacks on European democracies. Are information operations the most effective tool in Russia’s arsenal—and how can European governments and societies fight back?

Support for negotiations toward a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has been growing in the West. Should Kyiv accept a freezing of the contact line and its NATO membership process, and what are the alternate paths to peace?

Rym Momtaz, Sophia Besch, and Christopher Shell discuss how Donald Trump’s victory might reshape transatlantic relations.

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?