Paris climate conference at the end of week one: taking stock

The Paris climate conference began on 30 November. Olivia Gippner assesses the progress made in the first week of discussions, noting that while a negotiating text has been agreed, most of the critical issues have been left for the second week. She writes that one of the trends apparent in the first week is that the EU’s status has changed significantly from the 2009 summit in Copenhagen, with the EU losing some of its leadership role to China and the United States

China as an Investment Power in Europe. College of Europe Policy Brief #19.16, December 2016

Executive Summary > Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Europe has overtaken European FDI in China, in part due to the Chinese ‘Going out’ strategy. > In view of this trend, the broader public and foreign policy circles in big EU member states, such as Germany and the UK, fear a loss oftheir countries’ competitive advantage and technological know-how. > High-profile investment cases have led European countries to introduce safeguards for security-related investments and critical infrastructures. > Putting in place institutions such as the EUChina Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and safeguards for Chinese-funded projects, but also enhancing their legitimacy with the European public will be crucial. > European policy-makers will have to increase their understanding of the variety of Chinese investors, be they state-owned enterprises or private companies, and at the same time avoid demonization of Chinese FDI

Women in United Nations peacekeeping: holding up half the Sky?

Women peacekeepers from China and India do pioneering work in South Sudan, Liberia and elsewhere. Yet, a lot remains to be done to truly achieve greater inclusiveness and gender equality in peacekeeping, write Olivia Gippner and Garima Mohan

From climate change to mediation: should the EU be a strategic actor in Asia-Pacific?

The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, is due to present a new Global Strategy later this month, though this may depend on the outcome of the UK’s referendum on EU membership. Olivia Gippner writes on the EU’s potential involvement in the Asia-Pacific region and what role, if any, this should play in its future strategy for engaging with the rest of the world

NFG Final Report 2015

In order to discuss intermediate findings and progress of the project "External Views on the EU as a Civilian Power – India and China in Comparison", the NFG held international conferences on 'Asian Views of the European Union as a Security Actor: Perspectives from India and China' in China, India and Germany, with participants from Europe, China, India, the US and Australia. The conference reports cover major points of the presentations and discussions on external perceptions of the EU, and the EU’s role of norm diffusion in the cases of peacekeeping and export controls. Read Working Paper

Brainstorming Roundtable on Sharing European Flood Management Experiences and Lessons Learned. NFG-TNC Report

On 16 June 2014, a joint roundtable organised by the NFG, along with The Nature Conservancy Europe (TNC), brought together European experts to “share European flood management experiences and lessons learned“. Thirty selected participants, including some of the most prominent experts on flood risk management in Europe and China, members of universities, think tanks and river commissions identified best practices, case studies and idea

Europe’s Role for Security in a Multipolar World: Views from India and China

The Third NFG Academic Council Meeting was held in New Delhi, India, on 26-27 September, 2013 in association with Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Observer Research Foundation, and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung India. The Conference on ‘Europe’s Role for Security in a Multipolar World: the Views from India and China’ brought together academics, practitioners, and policy makers from Europe, India and China, with the aim of bridging the gap between academic and policy debates in Asia and Europe

Emissions trading and climate diplomacy between Europe and China

-Over the past decade, the EU has been following a “policy of unconditional engagement” vis-à-vis the People’s Republic of China, pursuing its promotion of effective multilateralism. In the field of climate change, China has been an increasingly important member of the UNFCCC process and a key target of European engagement policies. Regardless of geographical distance, which restricts European ability to influence, Europe has employed a variety of instruments in its foreign environmental policy. Yet how do Chinese decision-makers perceive these efforts? The Paris COP21 Summit has been hailed as a major breakthrough by Europeans and Chinese alike. Drawing on two sets of interviews carried out in Beijing in 2012 and 2016 this brief looks at the dynamics of climate policy adoption in China. Emissions trading serves as a case study for domestic politics: the seven pilot systems were also result of a turf battle between the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance. The EU and Norway could plug into domestic policy making by providing large-scale capacity building. So, could this be a success story for climate policy promotion

Asian Views of the European Union as a Security Actor: perspectives from China and India

The second NFG Academic Council Meeting was held at Peking University, Beijing on 20-21 September, 2012 in cooperation with the School of International Studies, Peking University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Chinese Association for European Studies (CAES). The conference theme was 'Asian Views of the European Union as a Security Actor: Perspectives from India and China' and saw participants from Europe, India, China and the US