Europe Archive

The United Nations’ annual climate conference opened in Madrid last week following an important if quiet milestone: the 60th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty, one of the most successful yet least known multilateral agreements ever signed. At the height of the Cold War, the treaty froze several countries’ sovereignty claims to the polar South, while designating Antarctica a part of the global commons. Nations would not compete geopolitically over the continent but instead cooperate peacefully there in the name of science and environmental stewardship. Although fraying at the edges, the treaty remains a triumph by any measure. Unfortunately, for all […]

Rafael Grossi, a veteran Argentine diplomat, took the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Dec. 3, promising to bring renewed vigor and a higher profile to the world’s nuclear watchdog after the illness and death of his predecessor, Yukiya Amano of Japan. Grossi, who has previously served as Argentina’s permanent representative to the IAEA and the agency’s effective chief of staff, most recently has been heading preparations for next year’s review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In a fall contest that stretched over several rounds, Grossi bested Romanian diplomat Cornel Feruta and two other competitors to win […]

In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s Judah Grunstein and Frederick Deknatel talk about the diplomatic and political takeaways from U.S. President Donald Trump’s two-day visit to the U.K. for a NATO leaders’ meeting. Over the course of his stay, Trump was publicly rebutted and privately mocked by America’s European allies, signaling what appears to be a new phase in global leaders’ reaction to his presidency. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your […]

French President Emmanuel Macron has maintained a frosty rapport with the national media since taking office in 2017, giving just two press conferences and accusing journalists of “no longer seeking the truth.” So it was a bit out of character when in late October he sat down for a lengthy interview with the magazine Valeurs Actuelles, to outline his priorities for the second half of his five-year term. Immigration—notably, how to reduce it—was chief among them. Valeurs Actuelles isn’t mainstream or widely read. It’s a conservative weekly magazine known for alarmist tropes against migrants and Muslims, so it seemed like […]

Leaders from NATO member states gathered in the U.K. this week for a two-day meeting to celebrate the alliance’s 70th anniversary. U.S. President Donald Trump is taking credit for increased military spending on the part of some NATO members, a frequent point of contention between the U.S. and its trans-Atlantic allies. But the challenges facing the alliance go well beyond that issue, as some European leaders are asking much more fundamental questions about the very essence and structure of NATO itself. To discuss the challenges facing NATO, WPR’s Elliot Waldman is joined by Claudia Major, a security expert at the […]