China

Europe

Belgium

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Belgium's intelligence service VSSE has been monitoring Chinese technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba's main European logistics hub at the Liege cargo airport for espionage, the Financial Times reported Oct. 5.

Belgium, EU, China: Belgium Investigates Alibaba's Possible Espionage at European Hub

United States

Germany

Spain

Ukraine

Energy

Politics

An internal paper for European leaders prepared by Spain warns the European Union could become as dependent on Chinese lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells by 2030 as it was on Russian oil and natural gas before the Ukraine war, Reuters reported Sept. 17 after obtaining a draft of the paper.

EU: Report Warns European Union of Dependency on Chinese EV and Battery Tech by 2030 

Tunisia

Tunisia launched a new crackdown on migrant workers over the weekend, pushing up to 500 migrants out of the city of Sfax just south of the capital of Tunis, France 24 reported on Sept. 17. 

Tunisia, EU: Tunisia Continues Crackdown as EU Skepticism of Migrant Deal Remains

Australia

Luxembourg

Denmark

France

Sweden

Portugal

Austria

Netherlands

Italy

Free trade talks between the European Union and Australia hit a roadblock as the two sides' trade representatives failed to resolve a dispute over quotas for access to Australian farm products such as lamb, sugar, dairy and especially beer into the EU market, the Financial Times reported July 11.

EU, Australia: Trade Talks Hit Another Roadblock Over Meat Quotas

Lithuania

Latvia

Czech Republic

Greece

Estonia

Poland

Slovakia

Slovenia

Hungary

The European Parliament voted in favor of the EU Nature Restoration Law, the European Commission's proposal to restore degraded land and biodiversity within the bloc, with supporters of the law narrowly defeating an attempt by conservative groups to sink it, Euractiv reported on July 12.

EU: European Parliament Backs EU Nature Restoration Law by Narrow Margin

European Union (EU) member states clashed over how to reform the bloc’s fiscal framework, known as the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), during a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, Reuters reported on June 16.

EU: Member States Divided Over Bloc's Fiscal and Debt Rules Reform

The Belgian government and electric utility corporation Electrabel SA, the Belgian subsidiary of France's Engie SA, reached a preliminary agreement to extend the operation of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors by ten years, Politico reported July 22.

Belgium: Government Moves to Extend Lifetimes of Two Nuclear Reactors

Iran

Security

Iran's Arc of Influence

Military & Security

A Belgian court sentenced Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi to 20 years in prison for his role in planning an attack targeting an Iranian dissident rally in France, the BBC reported Feb. 4.

Belgium: Court Sentences Iranian Diplomat to 20 Years for Bomb Plot in France

Snapshots

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Russia

Israeli and EU Flags

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A lack of a unified EU response to the Israel-Hamas War highlights divisions among member states' foreign policies, complicating the bloc's plans to play a meaningful role in the conflict, as well as efforts to maintain unified support for Ukraine.

Israel-Hamas War Highlights Divisions Among EU Member States

Malta

Finland

Cyprus

Rail cars loaded with steel sit at the ThyssenKrupp Schwelgern steel plant on May 30, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. 

The European Union and the United States will increase efforts to deconflict their trade and climate policies ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential and EU parliamentary elections, but lingering disagreements will not allow for a complete respite of Trump-era tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.

EU-U.S. Steel and Aluminum Negotiations Make Limited Headway

Columns

On Security

Ecuador

Mexico

Venezuela

Syria

North Korea

Seized marijuana bricks are incinerated in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While narco-states exist on a spectrum of severity, they can all have dramatic geopolitical, operational and tactical impacts that raise a wide variety of risks.

What Is a Narco-State, and Why Does It Matter?

Japan

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Economist Pierre Olivier Gourinchas speaks during a media interview at the IMF headquarters in Washington D.C. on July 26, 2022, after the institution downgraded its outlook for the global economy this year and next. 

As the effects of post-COVID reopenings wane, rising interest rates and slower economic growth may prove particularly problematic for highly indebted countries like Italy.

After a Brief Reprieve, Debt Levels in Many Advanced Economies Are Set to Rise

Assessments

United Kingdom

Supporters of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) protest in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 27, 2022, as part of a nationwide strike among U.K. rail workers. 

Social Issues

European countries could see a wave of disruptive protests in the coming months as workers demand wage increases to keep up with the rising cost of living. 

Europe's Inflation Crisis Raises the Risk of Social and Labor Unrest

Brazil

Turkey

Pakistan

Nurses demand better wages and to be paid in dollars amid inflation and economic crisis on Nov. 19, 2019, in Caracas, Venezuela. History is replete with examples of inflation -- and, in the most extreme cases, hyperinflation -- generating social unrest.

Even if the world probably won't be engulfed by violence, persistent inflation-linked protests can be expected some places, with periodic episodes of more serious unrest.

What Unrest Provoked by Inflation Could Look Like in 2022

Guidance

Mozambique

The Tianwen-1 probe is successfully launched on July 23, 2020, in Wenchang, Hainan, China.

COVID-19

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended Stratfor articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Cypriot Sovereignty Talks and a Chinese Space Launch

British fine china company Wedgwood on Oct. 14, 2020, in Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire, England. Founder Josiah Wedgwood incorporated some details of Chinese porcelain assembly lines into his own production process.

History has shown that economic espionage has been most successful at boosting domestic industries rather than destroying targeted industries.

Understanding Economic Espionage: The Past

A sign advises people to follow COVID-19 restrictions on Jan. 5, 2021, in Falmouth, the United Kingdom. In a televised address on Jan. 4, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country was entering its third lockdown since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. 

EU: Regional Blocs

The Fate of the Eurozone

The U.K.'s newly announced restrictions and economic relief package offer a preview of similar moves governments in continental Europe will make in the coming days. 

The Next Wave of COVID-19 Lockdowns Emerges in Europe

South Africa

A transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from a COVID-19 case in March 2020. The development highlights the broader question of the impact of mutations on COVID-19 transmission and the efficacy of new vaccines.

The development highlights the broader question of the impact of mutations on COVID-19 transmission and the efficacy of new vaccines.

What a SARS-CoV-2 Mutation in the United Kingdom Means for the World

A photo shows an empty plaza with closed stores in the German city of Eggenfelden on Oct. 27, 2020, after a local lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. 

Rising COVID-19 rates will force other EU countries to reimpose restrictions in the coming weeks, slowing the eurozone’s economic recovery and raising the risk of unrest.

Germany and France Go Back Into Lockdown. What’s Next?

The reintroduction of travel warnings and quarantine measures will slow Europe’s economic recovery, especially in tourism-dependent countries.

Europe Braces for Another Round of COVID-19 Travel Restrictions

<p>Belgium&#39;s history has been shaped by its location at the crossroads between Latin and Germanic Europe. Belgium is surrounded by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and the North Sea. It is home to a Flemish community in the north, which is mostly Dutch-speaking, and a Walloon population in the south, which mostly speaks French. Belgium&#39;s location also has made it a land of invasion, as it was for centuries disputed by larger powers such as Spain, France and Austria. Belgium gained independence in the 1830s, which was followed by a process of heavy industrialization and colonial expansion, particularly in Africa. Belgium is a mostly flat country, with a coastal plain full of polders in the northwest, a plateau with numerous waterways and fertile lands in the center, and thick forests and hills in the south. Belgium&#39;s core is in the so-called Flemish Diamond, an area that includes Brussels, Belgium&#39;s capital; Antwerp, which is home to one of the busiest ports in the world; and Ghent and Leuven, two important cultural and industrial centers. Almost half of Belgium&#39;s 11 million people live within this area. Belgium is also home to some of the most important institutions of the European Union, making Brussels the bloc&#39;s unofficial capital. Belgium&#39;s politics are defined by its linguistic and economic divides. A series of reforms between the 1970s and the 1990s made Belgium a federal state, in which Flanders and Wallonia were given some degree of self-government. But this was not enough to appease autonomist and secessionist sentiments, especially in Flanders, which is more economically developed than Wallonia. Belgium&#39;s federal government also has to include political parties from the two communities, which many voters see as inefficient. Belgium&#39;s main geopolitical challenge, therefore, is to remain united as a country. Domestic politics will play a role in this, but so will the evolution of the European Union, to which Belgium is deeply intertwined.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

Belgium, EU, China: Belgium Investigates Alibaba's Possible Espionage at European Hub

EU: Report Warns European Union of Dependency on Chinese EV and Battery Tech by 2030

Tunisia, EU: Tunisia Continues Crackdown as EU Skepticism of Migrant Deal Remains

EU, Australia: Trade Talks Hit Another Roadblock Over Meat Quotas

EU: European Parliament Backs EU Nature Restoration Law by Narrow Margin

EU: Member States Divided Over Bloc's Fiscal and Debt Rules Reform

Belgium: Government Moves to Extend Lifetimes of Two Nuclear Reactors

Belgium: Court Sentences Iranian Diplomat to 20 Years for Bomb Plot in France

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