European Union

Photo: Green Circuit Board by Miguel Á. Padriñán, available from https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-circuit-board-343457/

Cristina Pinna

Over the past decade, research security has moved from a technical concern discussed among specialists to a central issue in European research policy. What began as a debate about protecting sensitive technologies has expanded into a broader question about how knowledge should be governed in a changing geopolitical environment. Today, it shapes funding rules, international cooperation, and the everyday practices of universities across Europe, becoming part of a broader effort to govern knowledge flows amid geopolitical uncertainty and perceived vulnerability. It reflects a wider shift in how the European Union (EU) understands openness, collaboration, and risk.

In my ongoing research on EU research security and international academic cooperation (Pinna, 2024; Cai, Pinna and van der Wende, 2025; Pinna, 2025), I examine how this shift reflects more than a response to specific threats and is linked to the EU’s broader geopolitical repositioning and to the growing recognition that research and innovation are strategic domains. Policy debates increasingly frame scientific cooperation in terms of resilience, technological sovereignty, and economic security (European Commission 2025b) and are linked to the EU’s broader geopolitical repositioning and to the growing recognition that research and innovation are strategic domains. 

 

From openness to managed interdependence

For much of the early 2000s, EU research policy rested on the assumption that international openness was inherently beneficial. The development of the European Research Area (ERA), successive Framework Programmes, and mobility initiatives reflected a paradigm in which universities were encouraged to internationalise, compete globally, and integrate into the knowledge economy. International cooperation was tied to a neoliberal logic of competitiveness and excellence, where openness was seen as necessary for growth and scientific leadership. 

Over time, this consensus began to change. Advances in dual-use technologies, the strategic importance of innovation, and geopolitical rivalry led policymakers to reconsider the risks of unrestricted collaboration. Scientific cooperation is now seen not only as a driver of competitiveness, but also as a source of vulnerability. Concerns about knowledge transfer, foreign interference, and asymmetric dependencies have moved to the centre of policy debates, especially in strategic technologies. Where the previous decade emphasised internationalisation as an economic imperative, the current one increasingly frames it through a security logic concerned with exposure, dependence, and risk.

These developments are particularly visible in EU–China academic relations. Earlier narratives emphasised partnership and mutual benefit, whereas recent debates refer to reciprocity, risk awareness, and strategic dependencies (Cai, Pinna, and van der Wende 2025). Cooperation continues, but under more cautious and conditional terms. 

Recent EU initiatives reflect this recalibration. The Council Recommendation on Enhancing Research Security defines research security as the need to anticipate and manage risks related to unwanted knowledge transfer, malign influence on research, and violations of academic integrity or EU values (European Commission 2024a). Research security, therefore, goes beyond protecting technologies and includes safeguarding the conditions under which research remains open and trustworthy.  The White Paper on dual-use R&D further highlights the overlap between civilian innovation and security concerns (European Commission 2024b). Together, these documents signal a move from unconditional openness to managed internationalisation.

 

Security embedded in everyday research governance

This transformation has not taken the form of sudden restrictions. Instead, security concerns have been integrated into existing procedures.

Rather than imposing strict prohibitions, the EU mainly relies on regulatory and coordinative tools. Funding rules, due-diligence requirements, export controls, and risk assessments increasingly shape research cooperation. Recent Commission initiatives provide guidance and coordination tools for Member States (European Commission 2025a).

Because education and research remain largely national competencies, the implementation of research security is shaped by the relationship between the EU and its Member States. EU institutions set the direction, but Member States, funding agencies, universities, and researchers implement it. In this sense, research security develops through a multi-level governance system in which responsibilities are distributed rather than centrally imposed (Pinna 2024). Translating research security into practice is uneven across governance levels, with divergent narratives creating uncertainty for implementers and making the process more contested than official policy language suggests (Rüland et al. 2025).

 

A broader geopolitical context

The growing prominence of research security is closely connected to the EU’s wider geopolitical agenda. Since the late 2010s, EU policy has emphasised resilience, strategic autonomy, and reducing critical dependencies. Research and innovation are no longer seen only as drivers of growth, but as areas linked to security, competitiveness, and systemic vulnerability (European Commission 2025b).

This shift reflects not only the pursuit of power, but also growing concern about vulnerability within open research systems. Policymakers worry that openness may expose critical technologies, create dependencies, or allow foreign influence in sensitive areas. These concerns have led to new policy instruments in “like-minded” countries such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia, where governments introduced guidelines to help universities manage geopolitical risks in international collaboration (Shih, Chubb, and Cooney-O’Donoghue 2025). Comparative work also shows that in both Germany and the United States, research security is reshaping scientific cooperation under geopolitical pressure, though through different governance traditions (Rüffin et al. 2025).

The EU response remains distinctive. Rather than relying on direct restrictions, it mainly uses coordination, recommendations, and regulatory frameworks. Cooperation remains central, but with greater attention to exposure, dependence, and strategic capabilities. Research security, therefore, reflects an attempt to govern interdependence rather than abandon openness.

 

Changing language, changing expectations

This transformation is also visible in policy language. Over the past decade, EU documents have moved from the vocabulary of openness and global exchange to terms such as responsible internationalisation, de-risking, and strategic autonomy. These changes reflect shifting narratives about how openness should be organised. 

Earlier frameworks stressed partnership and mobility, whereas recent documents emphasise risk awareness, due diligence, and institutional responsibility. The Council Recommendation on research security places risk assessment and safeguards within normal research governance (European Commission 2024a).  Openness is no longer taken for granted but must be actively managed.

This shift is often summarised in the principle that cooperation should be “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.” Initially used in technical contexts, this expression now captures a broader change in how international collaboration is understood. It reflects the attempt to preserve openness while recognising its risks.

This shift in language is particularly visible in EU–China academic relations. Earlier narratives centred on partnership and exchange, while more recent debates increasingly refer to risk management, strategic dependencies, and the protection of sensitive knowledge (Cai, Pinna, and van der Wende 2025; Pinna 2024). These changes reorganise expectations across the research system, redistributing responsibility among universities, funding agencies, and individual researchers.

 

Concluding reflections

Research security has become a defining feature of EU research policy. What began as concern about sensitive technologies has evolved into a broader effort to reconsider how knowledge circulates in an increasingly contested global environment. 

The shift is visible both in policy instruments and in the language of international cooperation. Terms such as responsible internationalisation, strategic autonomy, and de-risking reflect a shift from openness as the default to a more cautious organisation of international cooperation.

For the EU, this reflects an effort to remain open while reducing vulnerabilities. For universities and researchers, collaboration continues but with stronger expectations of responsibility and risk awareness.  Understanding this shift is essential for navigating European research governance. Research security is not simply a constraint on cooperation, but an attempt to redefine how international collaboration can continue in a more uncertain and contested world.

 

Dr. Cristina Pinna is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the Department of International Relations and International Organization, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her research examines China’s global engagement, with particular interest in EU–China relations, the geopolitics of infrastructure and science and technology. She previously worked at the United Nations Development Programme in Beijing and has held research and teaching roles in Italy, Netherlands, Canada and China. She has launched a research group (Geo)Politics of the Global Science System – gloknos.

 

References

Cai, Yuzhuo, Cristina Pinna, and Marijk van der Wende, eds. 2025. Rethinking EU–China higher education cooperation in a complex and changing global environment. Special issue, Journal of Studies in International Education 29(2): 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153251316930 

European Commission. 2024a. Council recommendation on enhancing research security. COM(2024) 26 final. Brussels.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=COM:2024:26:FIN 

European Commission. 2024b. White paper on options for enhancing support for research and development involving technologies with dual-use potential. Brussels.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0027 

European Commission. 2025a. Commission announces new measures to strengthen research security. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, 28 October. Brussels. https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/commission-announces-new-measures-strengthen-research-security-2025-10-28_en

European Commission. 2025b. Strategic Autonomy and European Economic and Research Security. https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-research-and-innovation/europe-world/international-cooperation/strategic-autonomy-and-european-economic-and-research-security_en

Pinna, Cristina. 2024. Navigating knowledge and research security in EU–China academic relations: The case of Hungary, Italy, and the Netherlands. Journal of Studies in International Education 29(2): 319–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153241307970 

Pinna, Cristina. 2025. Comparative Perspective In EU Context: Policies And Instruments In Relevant EU Countries. In van der Wende M., et al. (eds.) Changing perspectives: towards conditions for sustainable EU-China collaboration in academic cooperation and R&D. Published by the China Knowledge Network (CKN). https://www.chinakennisnetwerk.nl/publications/changing-perspectives-towardsconditions-sustainable-eu-china-academic-collaboration  

Rüffin, Nicolas V., Katharina C. Cramer, Maximilian Mayer, and Philip J. Nock. 2025.
“Research Security’ in Germany and the United States: Shifting Governance of Scientific Collaboration Under Geopolitical Pressure. Global Policy, advance online publication, pp. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.70103

Rüland, Anna-Lena,  Rüffin, Nicolas V., Wang, Ruowei and Mauduit, Jean-Christophe. 2025.
“The Implementation of Research Security Policies in Germany: Exploring Policy Narratives across Governance Levels.” European Security, advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2025.2591708

Shih, Tommy, Chubb, Andrew  and  Cooney-O’Donoghue, Diarmuid. 2025. Processing the geopolitics of global science: Emerging national-level advisory structures. Journal of Studies in International Education 29(2): 300–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153241307971

The post Research Security and the EU’s Geopolitical Turn: Governing Knowledge in a Changing World appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

The People’s Republic of China has recently announced several global governance initiatives, with the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the forefront. Launched in 2021, the GDI is simultaneously embedded within United Nations (UN) frameworks surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals and supposed to advance ‘true multilateralism’ aligned with China’s broader vision for world order. In doing so, the GDI complicates both ‘status quo’ and ‘revisionist’ interpretations of China’s engagement with global governance, alongside efforts to refine this binary. Bridging historical institutionalism and Neo-Gramscian political economy, we argue that the GDI constitutes a form of ‘institutional layering’ that serves as a component of a broader counter-hegemonic strategy: Rather than displacing existing frameworks, China seeks to embed new practices, principles, and alliances within them to advance its material, ideational, and organizational interests. We demonstrate how the GDI functions as a low-cost, low-risk component of a ‘war of position’ that leverages UN legitimacy while incrementally contesting liberal norms and assess its transformative potential for altering the nature of global (development) governance.

The People’s Republic of China has recently announced several global governance initiatives, with the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the forefront. Launched in 2021, the GDI is simultaneously embedded within United Nations (UN) frameworks surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals and supposed to advance ‘true multilateralism’ aligned with China’s broader vision for world order. In doing so, the GDI complicates both ‘status quo’ and ‘revisionist’ interpretations of China’s engagement with global governance, alongside efforts to refine this binary. Bridging historical institutionalism and Neo-Gramscian political economy, we argue that the GDI constitutes a form of ‘institutional layering’ that serves as a component of a broader counter-hegemonic strategy: Rather than displacing existing frameworks, China seeks to embed new practices, principles, and alliances within them to advance its material, ideational, and organizational interests. We demonstrate how the GDI functions as a low-cost, low-risk component of a ‘war of position’ that leverages UN legitimacy while incrementally contesting liberal norms and assess its transformative potential for altering the nature of global (development) governance.

The People’s Republic of China has recently announced several global governance initiatives, with the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the forefront. Launched in 2021, the GDI is simultaneously embedded within United Nations (UN) frameworks surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals and supposed to advance ‘true multilateralism’ aligned with China’s broader vision for world order. In doing so, the GDI complicates both ‘status quo’ and ‘revisionist’ interpretations of China’s engagement with global governance, alongside efforts to refine this binary. Bridging historical institutionalism and Neo-Gramscian political economy, we argue that the GDI constitutes a form of ‘institutional layering’ that serves as a component of a broader counter-hegemonic strategy: Rather than displacing existing frameworks, China seeks to embed new practices, principles, and alliances within them to advance its material, ideational, and organizational interests. We demonstrate how the GDI functions as a low-cost, low-risk component of a ‘war of position’ that leverages UN legitimacy while incrementally contesting liberal norms and assess its transformative potential for altering the nature of global (development) governance.

Written by Clare Fergurson and Katarzyna Sochacka.

European Union–United States trade deal

Against a background of trade tariff instability, and to pave the way for negotiations with the Council on implementing the 2025 framework agreement between the EU and the United States (the ‘Turnberry deal’), Parliament debated and adopted its first-reading position on Committee on International Trade (INTA) reports on the two regulations proposed. The report on the main proposal covers EU industrial tariff liberalisation/agricultural tariff rate quotas, proposing a ‘sunset’ date of 31 March 2028, defensive measures in case of additional demands, and a safeguard clause. The second report, which deals specifically with trade in lobster, proposes a ‘sunset’ date of 31 December 2028, and includes defensive measures in case of US imposition of additional tariffs, breaches of human rights or threats to EU security interests. Both reports propose to evaluate the situation six months after implementation of the EU-US framework agreement.

Deposit protection and early intervention measures

Members remain determined to protect taxpayers from the consequences of failed banking institutions. A joint debate took place on deposit protection and early intervention measures, followed by a vote on agreed texts on a package of proposals that seek to further harmonise the current EU bank crisis management and deposit insurance framework. The agreements would facilitate access to industry support for failing banks, with resort to national deposit guarantee schemes set as a last resort. They also clarify the criteria for choosing whether to liquidate or rescue a bank and retain the current two-tier system for deposit protection.

Combating corruption

Following lengthy negotiations, Members approved a provisional agreement on the proposed directive to combat corruption. Aimed at developing a more robust legal and policy framework, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ report on the proposal called for an extended definition of a ‘public official’ potentially subject to criminal proceedings in the case of ‘abuse of function’, and to introduce new categories of offence. It also sought enhanced rights for the public to participate in corruption-related proceedings and called for EU countries to adopt anti-corruption strategies. Parliament’s recommendations shaped the compromise text in this latter respect, but with limited extensions to definitions.

Digital omnibus on artificial intelligence

The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing many aspects of daily life, and at considerable speed. The EU’s flagship Artificial Intelligence Act introduced measures to encourage development whilst also protecting citizens. However, setting up the governance structure to apply the act takes time. To ensure safe AI development can continue in the interim, Members adopted Parliament’s position for trilogue negotiations on proposed measures to simplify application of the AI Act. A report from Parliament’s Committees on Internal Market and Consumer Protection and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs agrees with the Council position that fixed deadlines should be set for delaying the rules governing high-risk AI systems. The report also introduces a targeted ban on AI generation of non-consensual sexual and intimate content.

Global gateway

The EU’s global gateway strategy seeks to promote clean and secure energy connections by working with international partners worldwide. Members debated and adopted an own-initiative report from the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and on Development (DEVE), assessing the first four years of the strategy’s implementation. While noting the funding has been successfully spent on promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in non-EU countries, the report nevertheless proposes improvements. These include moving to a more demand-driven strategy, based on partners’ needs and greater private sector involvement. The committees recommend revising the governance structure for greater democratic legitimacy, and advocate simpler and more predictable financing, as well as avoiding global gateway projects exacerbating debt in third countries.

Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive

In the EU, citizens largely enjoy access to clean water. The EU’s urban wastewater legislation was updated in 2024, to bring it into line with the EU’s climate neutrality targets. The new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) introduced stricter requirements for urban wastewater treatment, water re-use and sanitation. Members posed an oral question to the Commission on the implementation of this directive, with Members debating how to uphold the ‘polluter pays’ principle without risking production of vital medicines, as the pharmaceutical industry is a major user of water resources. During negotiations on the file, Parliament insisted on measures to avoid unintended consequences for vital products like medicines and to promote the re-use of wastewater and plant modernisation.

European Citizens’ Initiative – ‘Ban on conversion practices in the European Union’

Against the backdrop of several national bans on conversion practices in EU countries, Parliament debated a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), with over one million signatures in support, calling for an EU-wide ban on conversion practices targeting LGBTIQ+ individuals. Conversion practices (also known as conversion ‘therapies’) are widely condemned as constituting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, resulting in severe physical and psychological harm. The European Parliament firmly opposes conversion practices and has long denounced all forms of LGBTIQ+ discrimination.

Opening of trilogue negotiations

One decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union (Return Regulation), announced on 12 March 2026, was approved by vote.

This ‘at a glance’ note is intended to review some of the highlights of the plenary part-session, and notably to follow up on key dossiers identified by EPRS. It does not aim to be exhaustive. For more detailed information on specific files, please see other EPRS products, notably our ‘EU legislation in progress’ briefings, and the plenary minutes.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘Plenary round-up – March II 2026‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Für die meisten Menschen ist das eigene Fahrzeug eine der größten Investitionen im Alltag. Doch während wir viel Zeit in die Auswahl von Marke und Ausstattung investieren, wird der anschließende Schutz vor äußeren Einflüssen oft vernachlässigt. Dabei ist ein Auto permanenten Angriffen ausgesetzt: Extreme UV-Strahlung, aggressive Umweltschadstoffe, Streusalz und wechselhafte Witterungsbedingungen setzen Lack, Technik und Materialien unaufhörlich zu. Ein systematischer Ansatz zur Fahrzeugpflege ist daher kein Ausdruck von Eitelkeit, sondern eine wirtschaftlich notwendige Maßnahme zum langfristigen Werterhalt.

Die Reinigungsroutine als Schutzschild gegen Korrosion

Sauberkeit ist beim Auto keine reine Frage des Prestige. Schmutzpartikel, Vogelkot oder Bremsstaub wirken auf der Lackoberfläche wie Schleifpapier oder ätzende Substanzen. Besonders kritisch wird es im Winter, wenn Streusalz in jede kleinste Ritze der Karosserie und des Unterbodens eindringt. Ohne regelmäßige, gründliche Wäsche – inklusive Unterbodenreinigung – ist Rostfraß vorprogrammiert. Wer hier konsequent handelt, schützt die strukturelle Integrität seines Fahrzeugs und beugt teuren Instandsetzungen am Fahrwerk vor. Auch der Innenraum benötigt Schutz: UV-Licht bleicht Kunststoffe aus, während eingetragene Feuchtigkeit ein ideales Klima für Schimmel und unangenehme Gerüche schafft.

Lackversiegelung und Oberflächenmanagement

Der moderne Autolack ist ein komplexes Schichtsystem, das als Barriere gegen Umwelteinflüsse fungiert. Doch diese Barriere ist dünn. Durch Steinschläge oder tiefe Kratzer entstehen Angriffsflächen, die sofort behandelt werden müssen, um Unterwanderungen durch Rost zu verhindern. Eine professionelle Lackpflege durch Wachse oder keramische Versiegelungen verstärkt diesen Schutz erheblich. Solche Maßnahmen sorgen dafür, dass Wasser und Schmutz einfach abperlen, was wiederum die tägliche Reinigung erleichtert und die Oberfläche widerstandsfähiger gegen Mikro-Kratzer macht.

Strategischer Standortvorteil: Schutz vor Witterungsextremen

Den größten Einfluss auf den Alterungsprozess eines Fahrzeugs hat sein Stellplatz. Wer sein Auto dauerhaft unter freiem Himmel parkt, setzt es einem permanenten Wechselbad der Temperaturen aus. Ein überdachter Stellplatz minimiert diese Belastungen drastisch. Er verhindert, dass sich der Innenraum im Sommer auf über 60 Grad aufheizt, was Elektronik und Polster schont, und schützt im Winter vor Frostschäden an Dichtungen. Eine exzellente Alternative zur klassischen Garage ist die Installation moderner Schutzsysteme. So kann ein Carport in Köln beispielsweise die ideale Balance aus Schutz und Belüftung bieten: Das Fahrzeug ist vor direktem Niederschlag und Hagel sicher, während die ständige Luftzirkulation dafür sorgt, dass Feuchtigkeit nach einer Regenfahrt schneller abtrocknet – die beste Prävention gegen Korrosion.

Die Macht der kleinen Kontrollen

Technische Zuverlässigkeit entsteht nicht allein durch die große Inspektion alle zwei Jahre. Es sind die kurzen, regelmäßigen Checks, die den Unterschied machen. Ein korrekt eingestellter Reifendruck senkt den Kraftstoffverbrauch und erhöht die Fahrsicherheit, während die Kontrolle der Betriebsflüssigkeiten teure Motorschäden verhindert. Wer sich angewöhnt, einmal im Monat Beleuchtung, Wischerblätter und Ölstand zu prüfen, behält die volle Kontrolle über den technischen Zustand seines Wagens.

Pflege als Renditefaktor

Ein Fahrzeug verliert naturgemäß an Wert, doch die Geschwindigkeit dieses Verfalls lässt sich steuern. Ein lückenloses Scheckheft, ein gepflegter Lack und ein technisch einwandfreier Zustand zahlen sich beim Wiederverkauf oder bei der Rückgabe eines Leasingfahrzeugs massiv aus. Letztendlich ist die Sorgfalt im Umgang mit dem Fahrzeug eine Form der Wertschätzung gegenüber der eigenen Mobilität und eine Investition, die sich durch Zuverlässigkeit und Sicherheit täglich bezahlt macht.

Der Beitrag Werterhalt durch Prävention: Warum systematischer Fahrzeugschutz weit über die Ästhetik hinausgeht erschien zuerst auf Neurope.eu - News aus Europa.

Delegations

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Knowledge brokers have emerged as a key mechanism for facilitating knowledge exchange across institutional and epistemic divides to enable more inclusive, informed, and context-sensitive decision-making. However, despite growing recognition about their value and importance, critical gaps remain related to how knowledge brokers operate that hinders their effectiveness and efficiency in practice. One such gap relates to the ethical dimensions of their work, which remain underexplored and lack formal conceptualization. This perspective addresses this gap by examining the overarching ethical challenges knowledge brokers face, and proposing a set of twelve experientially-derived principles to guide more ethically grounded knowledge brokering. For each principle we also outline a suite of practical behaviours, attitudes and actions to support their realisation in practice. In doing so, our goal is to help recognize and engage with the depth of ethical complexity that knowledge brokers must navigate, support those working in these often-invisible roles, and contribute to a broader conversation about how to strengthen the interface of sustainability science, policy and practice. We conclude by calling for greater institutional support, leadership, and a shift toward ‘ethics by design’ approaches that embed ethical reflection and practices in knowledge brokering efforts from the outset.

Knowledge brokers have emerged as a key mechanism for facilitating knowledge exchange across institutional and epistemic divides to enable more inclusive, informed, and context-sensitive decision-making. However, despite growing recognition about their value and importance, critical gaps remain related to how knowledge brokers operate that hinders their effectiveness and efficiency in practice. One such gap relates to the ethical dimensions of their work, which remain underexplored and lack formal conceptualization. This perspective addresses this gap by examining the overarching ethical challenges knowledge brokers face, and proposing a set of twelve experientially-derived principles to guide more ethically grounded knowledge brokering. For each principle we also outline a suite of practical behaviours, attitudes and actions to support their realisation in practice. In doing so, our goal is to help recognize and engage with the depth of ethical complexity that knowledge brokers must navigate, support those working in these often-invisible roles, and contribute to a broader conversation about how to strengthen the interface of sustainability science, policy and practice. We conclude by calling for greater institutional support, leadership, and a shift toward ‘ethics by design’ approaches that embed ethical reflection and practices in knowledge brokering efforts from the outset.

Knowledge brokers have emerged as a key mechanism for facilitating knowledge exchange across institutional and epistemic divides to enable more inclusive, informed, and context-sensitive decision-making. However, despite growing recognition about their value and importance, critical gaps remain related to how knowledge brokers operate that hinders their effectiveness and efficiency in practice. One such gap relates to the ethical dimensions of their work, which remain underexplored and lack formal conceptualization. This perspective addresses this gap by examining the overarching ethical challenges knowledge brokers face, and proposing a set of twelve experientially-derived principles to guide more ethically grounded knowledge brokering. For each principle we also outline a suite of practical behaviours, attitudes and actions to support their realisation in practice. In doing so, our goal is to help recognize and engage with the depth of ethical complexity that knowledge brokers must navigate, support those working in these often-invisible roles, and contribute to a broader conversation about how to strengthen the interface of sustainability science, policy and practice. We conclude by calling for greater institutional support, leadership, and a shift toward ‘ethics by design’ approaches that embed ethical reflection and practices in knowledge brokering efforts from the outset.

A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), led by Committee Chair David McAllister (EPP, Germany), visited Podgorica and Tirana from 16 to 18 February.
The visit enabled AFET MEPs to evaluate the state of play of accession negotiations and outstanding reform priorities in each country and reaffirm Parliament's commitment to supporting both countries on their European paths.
Press release
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will visit Seoul and Tokyo from 31 March to 2 April, led by Committee Chair David McAllister (EPP, Germany).
During the visit, MEPs will discuss how to further strengthen the EU's strategic cooperation with South Korea and Japan, two of its key like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Discussions will focus on issues of mutual interest against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting global landscape and challenges to the rules-based international order, shaped by evolving dynamics across the Indo-Pacific region, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and conflict in the Middle East.
AFET Missions
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Après le décès de Toumba Diakité, retour sur une série de morts en détention en Guinée qui soulèvent des questions sur la justice, la transparence et les conditions carcérales sous la transition militaire.

Suite aux attaques américaines et israéliennes, l'Iran a commencé à cibler les pays du Golfe qui abritent des bases militaires américaines.

Women in Kenya and Ghana tell the BBC about being approached by a Russian man who later posts videos of them without their consent.

Le quartier du 5-Maji, au nord de Tirana, est au cœur du projet Tirana Riverside, opaque et controversé. De nombreuses habitations ont été démolies pour faire place à de nouveaux bâtiments, laissant les habitants dans une situation précaire. Reportage.

- Articles / Albanie, Société, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Gratuit

On Thursday, Parliament and Council reached an agreement on a major reform of the EU Customs Code to address problems relating to e-commerce, safety of goods and efficiency.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP