No better time for Europe to take electrification seriously - which is why I am excited to moderate a discussion on Europe's power as an electrostate with @adrianhiel.bsky.social, @tpellerincarlin.bsky.social, Paula Rey Garcia and Frauke Thies.
Join us on March 18!
"The closure of Qatari LNG facilities and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz are affecting a large chunk of global LNG supply," said @elisabettaco.bsky.social, assistant director at the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social.
www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
New piece on Chinese tech investment in Europe — fittingly out the day the Commission publishes the Industrial Accelerator Act, kicking off months of legislative wrangling.
A look at the data and recent cases shows Europe has learned to block Chinese takeovers of tech & semiconductor assets.
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Europe remains one of the economies most exposed to volatility in global energy markets.
The EU still depends on imported fossil fuels for close to 60% of its energy needs.
Among large economies, only Japan and South Korea have higher levels of energy import dependence.
Three side-by-side line charts titled “Natural gas prices have surged in Europe and Asia this week”, showing daily prices rebased to 100 in September 2025. In Europe and the UK, prices hover around 100 through autumn 2025, dip below 90 around January 2026, then spike sharply in early March 2026 to roughly 180–195. In Asia, prices follow a similar pattern but rise less steeply, climbing from around 100 to about 130–135 in early March 2026. Sources: Refinitiv and S&P Global Energy.
Two-panel line chart titled “The natural gas price rally still has a long way to go to match 2022”. Top panel shows the European benchmark gas price over the past six months (€/MWh), fluctuating mostly between €27 and €35 before rising sharply in late February 2026 to about €58. Bottom panel shows weekly prices over the past five years. Prices surge dramatically in 2022, peaking above €300 per MWh, then fall back and stabilise mostly between €20 and €60 through 2023–2025. The recent 2026 uptick, marked on the far right, remains far below the 2022 peak. Source: Refinitiv.
Conflict in the Middle East has sent gas prices surging across Europe and Asia. But the spike remains modest compared with 2022 when Putin's Ukraine invasion sent prices almost seven times higher.
Read the full story on #FTEdit 👉 How serious is the Middle East gas price shock? ft.trib.al/K7RVfvL
Alice, all the best for your next adventures in maritime - you'll be missed in Brussels!
I wrote a piece for @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social to mark 4 years of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, on lessons European leaders shd learn & the priorities they shd act on. Maybe most important: Europe needs to be on the pitch, not in the stands: Ukraine’s security is our security.
A pleasure to speak to Victoria Vdovychenko of @camgeopolitics.bsky.social & Andy Hunder of AmCham Ukraine. One point that jumped out at me: the extent to which Putin has targeted US investments in Ukraine (factories etc). One might have thought that the US president would tell him to stop, but...🤷
"Even before Trump, the US refused to nominate judges to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and that effectively rendered the WTO in many ways dysfunctional," @antonspisak.bsky.social tells @elisabettaco.bsky.social in the latest episode of the #CERpodcast.
Full episode here: buff.ly/z30mXwQ
Applications are now open for the 13th Clara Marina O’Donnell fellowship, full details below.
Start date: October 2026 for six months
Pay: London Living Wage
Applications in by: 09/04/26
@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social @brookings.edu @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social
buff.ly/3vV64SZ
The world has changed since the 2016 #Brexit vote. In response, the UK & EU need to be more willing to change fundamental aspects of their post-Brexit relationship.
New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social/ KAS UK & Ireland policy brief by @cerianbond.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/vQRCfrT
Thank you to @elisabettaco.bsky.social, Alexandr Hobza, @tpellerincarlin.bsky.social & @ph-jaeg.bsky.social for speaking at @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social/ @bst-europe.bsky.social/ @delorsberlin.bsky.social event on 'Shaping the right policies for Europe's clean tech industry' in Brussels yesterday.
Welcome James!
So what the hell just happened? Two things: Ukraine will get 90 billion euros. And Orbán did not veto that even though he could have.
How so? Short thread:
The European Council today is make-or-break for Ukraine’s financing. The bloc is racing to unlock a €210bn Ukraine reparations loan using frozen Russian assets.
D-Day for Europe to shore up Ukraine funding.
As EU leaders huddle in Brussels, Stephen Paduano and I analyse the reparations loan in a new piece.
This is not only a "There Is No Alternative" (TINA) moment—but the financial and legal risks are also manageable.
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www.cer.eu/insights/ukr...
Ukraine's security is Europe's security.
Helping UA is not a burden for EU members, it's the necessary & urgent thing to do as they are protecting us by fighting Russia.
Unbelievable that almost 4 years into full-blown conflict, consequences of European flip-flopping are not evident to EU leaders.
As some EU leaders lose sight of the big picture in Russia’s war of aggression, reminder of 2 of my pieces: this on consequences if Ukraine loses: www.cer.eu/publications... ; & this on what Europe must do to ensure it doesn't: www.cer.eu/publications.... Only change: funding UA is now more urgent.
@elisabettaco.bsky.social from the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social joins The Jolt @foresight-ce.bsky.social to discuss the new paper she's co-authored on Europe’s #cleantech sector.
buff.ly/a9KoPG6
Great to talk to @kirataylor.bsky.social about our paper on the challenges for European clean tech: listen to our chat on the Foresight Jolt podcast (a must listen, always!): foresightmedia.com/story/srolvn...
News from the best EU economic policy collaboration in town with @bertelsmannst.bsky.social and @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social.
This time @elisabettaco.bsky.social, @etiennehoera.d-64.social, @lucas-res-car.bsky.social and @ph-jaeg.bsky.social look into cleantech challenges and how to tackle them.
Europe’s clean tech industry is caught between US tariffs and Chinese overcapacity, and EU producers are in trouble.
A new policy brief by @etiennehoera.d-64.social, @lucas-res-car.bsky.social, @elisabettaco.bsky.social, & @ph-jaeg.bsky.social plots a path forward ➡️ bst-europe.eu/competitiven...
If the EU doesn‘t want to become a (high-carbon) industrial museum, the time to act is now.There‘s a lot of pressure from tariffs and Chinese production, but EU clean tech has every chance to survive and thrive through this if supported by the right policies. We also show that this varies by sector.
EU clean tech is under pressure: in the US, the phaseout of green subsidies dampens EU exports and Trump's tariffs re-direct trade, while Chinese over-capacities create very tough price competition.
Our new policy brief shows how these drivers interact - and what the EU should do in response (1/4)
New Policy Brief! A joint publication of @bst-europe.bsky.social , @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social , and @delorsberlin.bsky.social.
We analyze how recent shifts in US trade and industrial policy are changing the prospects for Europe’s clean tech industry, which is getting squeezed from two sides:
Very interesting walk-through of the impact of Trump on clean tech
Faced with China's distortions, US tariffs, and the IRA rollback, should the EU stay in the clean tech race or throw in the towel?
A hugely important paper - with a lot of novel data - tackles that question.
By Elisabetta, @imlucascarvalho.bsky.social @etiennehoera.d-64.social and Philipp Jäger
Shoutout to my co-authors for this project, a joint venture by @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social @delorsberlin.bsky.social @bertelsmannst.bsky.social : follow them if you don't already do @ph-jaeg.bsky.social @lucas-res-car.bsky.social @etiennehoera.d-64.social !
3️⃣Boost EU-level production support to complement national state aid and help strategic industries scale, expanding the role of Important Projects of Common European Interests.
2️⃣Stable regulations and purchase incentives to sustain clean tech demand. Confusion around phase-out of legacy tech like combustion engines is not helpful. Fuzzy price signals, like energy taxes favouring gas instead of electricity, are incoherent with the electrification and decarbonisation drive.
