Council's research service study identifies critical domains shaping the EU environment in 2026

The Analysis and Research Team (ART), the EU Council's in-house research service, has released a new research paper on 'Forward look 2026: Playing by new rules?'.

The paper states that the ‘rules of the game’ are changing: from global power dynamics and economic fragilities to destabilising societal pressures, from conflict and hybrid threats to competitiveness and climate change, established assumptions are being challenged and called into question. The ‘Forward Look 2026’ explores the evolution of this landscape in the year ahead, and how the EU may need to adapt to – and contribute to shaping.

The 'Forward Look' is the fifth of its series. It aims to reflect on the emergence of new ‘rules of the game’, examining how they could manifest over the course of the year ahead, key indicators of shifts underway and tensions between competing dynamics, and the wider implications of these changes. These issues are addressed across five critical domains that together will shape the EU’s strategic environment:

• global and regional power dynamics;
• persistent conflicts and hybrid threats;
• structural economic fragilities;
• the evolving relationship between competitiveness and the climate transition;
• and destabilising pressures within societies.

Council Analysis and Research Team: Forward Look 2026: Playing by new rules?