As the new European Commission takes office, this study looks back at the key events of the previous legislature. The von der Leyen I Commission, which its President had intended to be "geopolitical", was marked by a succession of major crises that have shaped European policies over the last five years.

Since the break-up of the USSR in 1991, the five former Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), which have now become independent, have been tactfully trying to free themselves from the dual grip of Russia and China and to apply a specific diplomacy to attract outside powers.

'Digital legislation has taken off, in autocracies and democracies alike. Its importance is universal, because digital technology poses challenges that are common to all states: the collection of personal data without users' knowledge, the precarious working conditions of couriers and delivery drivers, the monopolistic practices of major platforms, and attacks on dignity and internal security.' This study looks at the different approaches to digital legislation chosen by three giants: China, the United States and the European Union.

Ten years ago, the European Union signed an association agreement with Ukraine. The process of rapprochement was launched. This study shows the reforms that have been introduced or undertaken within this framework, the obstacles to this process created by the Russian aggression of February 2022 and the road still to be travelled to meet the challenges ahead in finalising the terms of the agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, which gives concrete expression to the will of the Ukrainian people as expressed during the EuroMaidan revolution.

'The European Union has to get on track for more growth and jobs in a world that is moving faster than the former is at present; and the European Commission, which holds the legislative initiative, has to be shaped accordingly', says Jean-Paul Betbeze, before he goes on to say "No one will be able to say they didn't know what was going on: there are ways out of the spiral we are in, caught between the two world powers, the United States and China, a spiral that could well crush us".

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Agenda

A review of the Von der Leyen I Commission (2019-2024)

Central Asia: a player still largely unknown in Europe

Digital legislation: convergence or divergence of models? A comparative look at the European Union, China and the United States

Ukraine's accession negotiations with the European Union: reforms undertaken in ten years and the challenges ahead

Draghi Report: as strategic a guide as it is diplomatic for Europe