The closer economic ties between East and West have in no way led to the worldwide promotion of democracy, freedom and the rule of law, as a look in the direction of Russia and China shows.

“Russia is testing the European security system and seeking to undermine it through the situation in Ukraine. Essentially, it seems that it wants to pick apart European allies and demonstrate that NATO cannot deliver security and that it can be internally divided.”

The closer economic ties between East and West have in no way led to the worldwide promotion of democracy, freedom and the rule of law, as a look in the direction of Russia and China shows. That is why Europe is also saying goodbye to previous concepts. Change through trade is over. Europe must adapt more strongly to a new reality: we are confronted with authoritarian states that play by their own rules to which we have to adapt differently. The war in Ukraine made that crystal clear.

In our latest Talk Europe! episode, Europe’s Futures Fellow Janka Oertel of the European Council on Foreign Relations debunks some major myths about the relationship between Europe and China.

This text and video is published under the Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. The name of the author/rights holder should be mentioned as followed. Author: Jovana Trifunović and Igor Bararon / tippingpoint.net. Cover picture: film still, illustration: Norma Nardi

Talk Europe!

Insight and commentary on contemporary European issues. Catalonia to Russia, politics to art: on relevant topics with the right people. New perspectives and new space for public debate.