The European Ocean Pact: A Momentum for Enhancing Maritime Environmental Security
On 9 June 2025, announcing the establishment of the European Ocean Pact, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of the ocean in the following terms: It feeds us, cools us, and connects us to the world. […] The Ocean is still in crisis. Without action, we risk our future, directly linking life on Earth to the health of this wonderful natural space, and framing ocean protection as a matter of security.
Read moreThe EU’s drinking water governance: mopping the floor while the tap is running
The European Union has some of the strictest water standards in the world, yet reliable access to safe water can no longer be taken for granted. Research conducted over the past fifty years has revealed that groundwater contamination is far more widespread and harmful than previously believed. Additionally, the ever-increasing contamination by anthropogenic pollutants—those caused by human activities, including hazardous chemicals that did not exist or were barely recognized as contaminants a few years ago—create risks for human health and the environment that remain widely underestimated. From PFAS and pesticide residues to microplastics, many of these contaminants are highly persistent, difficult to remove and enormously costly to recover from.
Read moreHow The EU Soil Monitoring Law Misses The Security Picture
Soil plays a fundamental role as it is central to food production, climate regulation, biodiversity and the resilience of ecosystems. Yet, according to the European Commission, 60 to 70 percent of European soils are currently in poor health. A share that could reach 90 percent by 2050 if current trends continue. In response, the Soil Monitoring Law, the EU’s first harmonised legal framework dedicated to soils, entered into force in December 2025.
Read moreThe Global Implications of the Clean Industrial Deal: Reconciling Energy Transition at Home with Environmental Security Abroad
The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal (CID), centred on industrial decarbonisation and net-zero value chains, necessarily requires a strong external dimension. Clean industrial production – from green hydrogen and low-carbon steel to batteries and critical raw materials – depends on interconnected transnational value chains that increasingly rely on near-shoring strategies and strategic partnerships with third countries, especially in resource-rich neighbouring regions.
Read moreEurope’s incomplete dream for green autonomy
The paracetamol to relieve the pain of a headache, the packaging to keep food fresh, and the tubing used in a hospital IV line, all originate from a barrel of crude oil. Numerous everyday products depend on fossil-based carbon and hydrogen molecules. While recent geopolitical shocks (e.g., Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran conflict) have exposed Europe’s energy dependence, they have masked Europe’s dependence on fossil-based feedstocks for plastics and pharmaceuticals.
Read moreFrom Russian Gas to American LNG: Can the EU Balance Energy Security and Competitiveness?
In recent years, the European Commission has placed the competitiveness of its industry at the heart of its political agenda, as evidenced by a series of major initiatives from the Competitiveness Compass to the Clean Industrial Deal all designed to close the productivity gap with the United States and China.
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