Italy introduced a new system intended to protect minors from accessing adult content, but its design created widespread confusion about whether SPID digital identification would be required to access such websites.

Recently, the European Commission dropped two policies we’ve been waiting for: the Democracy Shield and the EU Civil Society Strategy.

When attending the Black Sea Security Conference in Tbilisi in October 2024, a joint event led by the liberal Friedrich Naumann Foundation with the support of ELF, some ominous shadows loomed large. Georgians were less than a month away from the parliamentary election, facing justified fears, now materialized, of what a victory for the Georgian Dream party could mean for the country.

Georgia, once a regional beacon, has taken a drastic detour from its Euro-Atlantic path. In October, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party again secured a contested local majority, followed by the Parliamentary Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili accusing the EU of financing anti-governmental protests, or “street wars”. This claim reflects the party’s broader illiberal populist rhetoric, which portrays Western liberal institutions as threats to Georgian sovereignty and national identity.

Last week, Tirana marked a major milestone on Albania’s path to joining the European Union by opening six key negotiation clusters. This achievement is also linked to the latest annual “Enlargement Package” from the European Commission, which now sees enlargement as an important geopolitical tool for a stronger, more unified Europe, and not just a technical process.

We have the foundations, the tools, and the talent in Europe to improve our situation. We just need to get the mindset right first. That is why, in this Study – Designing Europe’s Future: AI as a Force of Good – we aim to articulate an optimistic, liberal vision for AI. The Study gives voice and provides solutions to the questions that are most pressing at this pivotal moment: how do we go beyond just focusing on AI regulation in Europe? How do we innovate in Europe and steer AI in the right direction so that it can benefit our societies? And how do we have guardrails around AI to protect our values and the way we live – without stifling innovation?

With the war in Ukraine, drones flying into NATO territory and ongoing protests in Serbia – just to mention a few relevant examples – we can say that Europe’s security, democracy, and stability are at stake. One of the key panels at the “Rethinking Security on Europe’s Eastern Frontier” conference this year addressed Europe’s security and stability and explored the role that the Western Balkans could play in strengthening the European security architecture.   

On the 28th of September 2025, Moldovans went to the polls in what many regarded as one of the most consequential parliamentary elections in the country’s young democracy. Against a backdrop of regional uncertainty, foreign interference, and mounting socio-economic pressures, this election was about where Moldova belongs: in the EU, or stuck in Russia’s shadow.

During the post–Cold War period, space was mainly seen as a domain of discovery and innovation. Scientific ingenuity and ambition thrived within this global commons, leading to vital civilian services such as GPS, earth observation, and satellite systems that connected the world and deepened awareness of our planet’s environmental pressures. It was also an era of relative restraint, shaped by a culture of collaboration and a commitment to the peaceful use of space born out of the trauma of the 1960s space crisis. Organisations like the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs helped institutionalise these norms, while the Outer Space Treaty famously stated that space exploration ‘shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries’. For liberals, this cooperative order embodied a core conviction: that progress is greatest when the knowledge and infrastructure of space are treated as public goods, open and accessible to all.

Why are some of the European Union (EU) institutions holding back on robust pushback against an increasingly erratic, authoritarian, and bullying White House? Are we going to stand by while the Trump administration interferes with the EU’s sovereign choices through trade and investment measures, simply because the European Commission refuses to bend Single Market rules for US-based digital platforms, to the frustration of America’s tech oligarchs? 

The 21st century will be the century of space. This grand claim, recently echoed by Commissioner Kubilius in remarks on the European Space Act (ESA) and the EU’s new Vision for the Space Economy, is not mere rhetoric. The global space sector is projected to grow exponentially, with the Draghi report suggesting it could surpass €1.5 trillion by 2035 (from €500 billion in 2023), reshaping not just defence and telecommunications, but climate monitoring, precision agriculture, finance, and mobility. Accordingly, space is no longer just a frontier of exploration, but an economic engine and critical infrastructure layer central to modern civilisation. 

When EU officials travel to countries with politically sensitive contexts such as Serbia and Georgia, these are not mere ceremonial gestures. Rather, these official visits are essential for grasping the realities on the ground.