The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies hosted its Global Synergy Conference of 2026 on the 18th of March on Power, Partnerships and the Next Global Order.

The conference aimed to find clear strategic recommendations for the EU’s global positions, in light of the reorganising of the global order. Partnerships with the Global South were explored, including by building trust in the EU's reliability and predictability.

Judith Arnal, Daniel Gros, Fredrik Erixon, Oscar Guinea discussed for the European Centre for International Political Economy on March the 18th, the Draghi Report and the policy initiatives taken since then to protect European entrepreneurship and innovation.

The 24th of March saw the hosting by POLITICO of a Competitive Europe Summit event, discussing the various ways Europe could address its competitiveness gap, with representatives of the EU, the private sector, and members of the civil society.

ICES followed two sessions during that day namely “The European Champions: How to make European companies competitive on the world stage” and “Economic Security: Europe’s economic future in an unstable geopolitical era”.

As security is becoming an all-encompassing concept in Europe and elsewhere in the new global (dis)order, ICES was pleased to host its “European Security and the Roles of China and the USA” webinar on March 26.

The roles of China and the US in this new direction have been and remain crucial, and this event was the occasion to discuss with both European and Chinese speakers what shape the future European security architecture might take and how China and the USA will influence it.

At an EPC Thought Leadership Forum held on March 27, US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder presented a broad defence of the Trump administration’s approach to transatlantic relations, arguing that the US and Europe remain essential partners but that the relationship is undergoing a necessary rebalancing.

He framed this shift above all around security, trade and technology, with China playing a central role in Washington’s long term strategic thinking.

On the 31st of March, Euractiv hosted a panel talk on “High energy prices and European industry – How can electricity price support be designed to promote competitiveness?”.

The talk centred on the high energy prices exacerbated by the war in Iran and the one in Ukraine before that, how it impacts European industries especially for raw materials in heavy industries such as chemicals, steel and aluminium, and how the EU can both meet its climate goals while preserving its competitiveness against American and Chinese giants.