From Kissinger’s secret visit to Beijing to the U.S. president threatening war via social network posts. Citing those two extremes, MEP Adrián Vázquez Lázara (EPP) sums up how diplomacy has changed. In his view, the 'immediacy', 'overexposure', and 'algorithmic logic' embodied in Donald Trump are transmuting diplomacy, weakening the rules-based international order, and forcing Europe to rethink its collective security, including in cognitive terms.

In the corridors of Brussels and on Madrid’s chat shows, the preferred diagnosis for contemporary politics in Spain is 'affective polarization'; it is presumed that leaders are shouting at each other because they despise each other – not because they think differently. But if we read the small print in speeches recently delivered by Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, that analytical bubble bursts: this isn’t a problem of decibels but of two distinct models of State in direct collision. That’s the perspective of this week’s 'Brújula Europea' from Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', which rises above the noise to understand Spain’s political course within Europe.

Faced with the threat of a US retreat on security, EDA director and general André Denk acknowledges Europe’s strategic dependence. In the face of such a scenario, he hopes that "it will not be necessary to plan without the Americans" but argues that "we have to be prepared as Europeans" if the time comes. In his conversation with Agenda Pública director and editor Marc López Plana, he also stresses that there is greater unity among member states, as "interest in joint action, in cooperating in an EU environment, has significantly risen."

In its effort to reduce its dependence on China, Europe runs the risk of financing mining and projects that ultimately supply third countries. Jakob Hensing, Head of Political Economy at the Global Public Policy Institute, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Full Professor of Political Science at CERI Sciences Po, argue that the EU must make it clear to its partners that these projects "are a matter of vital interest" to the continent, without going so far as to adopt the "callous approach of the Trump administration."

More spending does not by itself equal more power. Security expert Alberto Bueno explains that Spain is viewing the rise in European defense as an obvious opportunity, but with a risk of increasing investments without correcting industrial weaknesses. Between Spain’s commitment to Indra, tech pressures imposed by Ukraine, and U.S. dependence, the debate is no longer about how much to spend, but how to convert that effort into real capabilities.

The recent clamor around Indra has focused on resignations, internal rebalancing, and power quotas, but the central question has scarcely been touched upon: What does it mean for a company to be 'strategic'? In this edition of 'Brújula Europea', the director and editor of 'Agenda Pública' contends that Spain has intentionally avoided significant debate in this matter; he explains that if the State wants to preserve sovereignty in defense, energy, or technology, it cannot allow politics to withdraw from corporate governance.

Greece has left the worst of the crisis behind, but it has not resolved the issues that most undermine its political stability: an economy that distributes its benefits unevenly and an institutional system under scrutiny. This two-pronged challenge now haunts Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greek journalist Nick Malkoutzis notes that, while macroeconomic indicators are holding up, social unrest and a string of scandals threaten to bring the Greek conservative leader’s tenure to an end.

The turmoil in Italian politics points toward the polls. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who until now had enjoyed a level of stability unusual for an Italian government, has lost the important constitutional referendum she herself spearheaded, and there are now doubts about the government’s future. Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera de Prat, professor emeritus of political science, analyzes the scenarios facing the country, including an "unlikely" but "not impossible" early election.

In conversation with 'Agenda Pública', Antonio López-Istúriz talks about the Atlantic relationship and Spain’s role in it, the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, and Europe’s foreign activities. The experienced MEP calls for "formulas such as qualified majority" – which is faster than unanimity – to speed advances on key issues like defense. Also, he reminds us that the European project remains successful: "We’re still moving forward, and Europe is still part of the solution."

This week’s column by Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', explores the internal logic of power following a conversation with Javier Colomina, Spain’s highest office-holder in the NATO alliance. Colomina’s insider perspective offers complex insights on the real costs of every strategic decision – the central question being whether Spain and Europe should enhance their roles within NATO or opt to pursue autonomous defense.

Global instability demands a military machine capable of responding at any latitude. In this conversation with Marc López Plana, director and editor of 'Agenda Pública', diplomat Javier Colomina defends NATO’s ‘360-degree’ vision. Colomina, Spain’s highest-positioned officer in the Alliance, maintains that NATO "doesn’t have the option of choosing between threats" and is committed to Europe taking fuller control of its own defense, toward the goal of achieving the "real capacity to produce what is needed."

The fracture in the relationship between the U.S. and Europe is having effects that go beyond the West. In this conversation between ECFR editorial director Jeremy Cliffe and German-Brazilian political scientist Oliver Stuenkel, they discuss the meaning of this space because "it is a concept that is not clearly defined even in Europe". They offer a review of geopolitical balances, Europe’s relationship with the Global South, and the future of European institutions in light of the positions adopted at the Munich Security Conference.

J. P. Carroll, a National Security researcher and columnist for 'Agenda Pública,' interviews Professor of Journalism Juan Luis Manfredi during his recent trip to the U.S. Manfredi, who held the Prince of Asturias Chair at Georgetown University from 2021 to 2024, discusses transatlantic relations, Spain’s role in the world, and the impact of technologies such as AI and social media on public discourse.

"Foreign policy often requires complex decisions and international commitments that aren’t always easily translated into simple political messaging," says Marc López Plana, "but electoral politics rewards clarity and simplicity. Managing that tension is now one of the challenges of democratic politics." This week, the editor and director of 'Agenda Pública' examines how global instability and the return of war to the continent have made foreign policy a determining factor in electoral competitions.

Is the EU project doomed to geopolitical irrelevance? Josep Borrell, president of CIDOB and former High Representative of the EU, explains to Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', that "the European Union wasn’t conceived for today’s world." In the face of international challenges – from the wars in Iran and Ukraine to the Trump administration – Borrell argues that the continent’s political survival will require a profound reset and an abandonment of institutional paralysis.

Faced with a global landscape dominated by unilateralism, Spain must urgently embrace its role as a "middle power." Antonio Tintoré, research assistant at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., argues that it is necessary to forge a "third way" that escapes rivalry between blocs. To avoid being left at the mercy of a "world of carnivores," Madrid needs to lead European integration, strengthen economic competitiveness, and advance genuine strategic autonomy.

'Agenda Pública' "Firmas Top" Columnist J.P. Carroll recently gathered the reactions of American and Spanish policy analysts and experts on President Trump’s recent remarks from the Oval Office about Spain, wherein he indicated a willingness to cut off trade ties. Reactions varied, but broadly highlighted the difference between the President’s rhetoric and his follow-up actions.

The European Union is undergoing a profound identity crisis as the 'rules-based global order' is being threatened by its own allies. Marc López Plana, director and editor of 'Agenda Pública', warns that submission to Washington weakens the continent as a 'normative power'. Given yesterday’s speech by Ursula von der Leyen renouncing a significant part of that rules-based world, 20 social democratic MEPs from Spain have emerged as a counterweight to the European Commission.

The death of 'old Atlanticism' and the birth of strategic patience. While Europe oscillates between alarm and nostalgia in the face of Donald Trump, economic reality is handing down its own sentence: our allies are no longer the ‘old Atlanticists’ we once knew. In this installment of 'La Brújula Europea,' Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública,' reflects on how Spain is playing the game of 'transatlantic capitalism.' Is the country prepared for an asymmetrical relationship that requires knowing how to say 'no' without putting 600,000 jobs at risk?

The clash between Washington and Madrid has implications that transcend bilateral relations. In the wake of trade-related threats, and with strategic autonomy on the agenda, the European Union is also a key player in addressing current differences and their potential consequences. In this discussion, four MEPs who are contributors to Agenda Pública EU offer their perspectives on this charged moment in the transatlantic relationship between the United States and Spain.

Will Europe wake up in time, or will it keep reacting to international crises like someone who’s just realized their house is on fire? Faced with Donald Trump’s threat to cut off trade with Spain for refusing to endorse his preemptive war, Javi López, Vice-President of the European Parliament, dissects the "vassal-worthy cooperation" of leaders like German Chancellor Merz and warns that the pillars of the European project won’t survive if Brussels tolerates economic blackmail from Washington against a Member State.

The CIA discovered many years ago that a diverse crowd could match the accuracy of its best analysts with far fewer resources. Today, prediction markets are used to answer questions about the economics of war or the impact of missiles in Ukraine. Can a betting platform predict the next major electoral upset better than the experts? We explore it with Emile Servan-Schreiber, founder of Hypermind, Europe’s leading collective-intelligence tool, in an in-depth conversation in 'Agenda Pública'.

What’s the difference between being a strategic ally and acting in the service of a foreign power? Although Donald Trump has accused Madrid of 'disloyalty', Spain’s refusal to permit the U.S. to attack Iran from the bases at Rota and Morón transcends the usual squabbles and threats of a trade embargo. In this edition of 'Brújula Europea' editor and director of 'Agenda Pública' Marc López Plana explains why putting the brakes on this unilateral offensive amounts to a defense of Spanish sovereignty.

With Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the military leadership defeated, the United States and Israel have decimated the Iranian regime in just a few days. In this analysis, National Security researcher J.P. Carroll brings together several experts to explore the consequences of the offensive. As the US Congress threatens to limit Donald Trump's flexibility, the world waits for the outcome of this episode of escalation in the Middle East.

"The West is dead" – or at least the illusion of a stable liberal order has expired. On the new chessboard of faits accomplis, Pedro Sánchez’s decision to cling to international legality in the face of crises such as the attack on Iran is seen by some as coherence and by others as naïvety. However, for a 'middle power' like Spain, the law "isn’t only ethical – it’s also infrastructural." Is Spain risking irrelevance due to a lack of pragmatism, or would ambiguity lead to a worse trap? In this week’s column, 'Agenda Pública' editor and director Marc López Plana explores this dilemma of Spanish foreign policy.

Is Europe prepared for the shockwave of democratic dismantling in the United States? In her new book The American Wake-Up Call, the German political scientist Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook warns in Agenda Pública that the current institutional erosion in Washington is not an accident, but a deliberate strategy of "systemic destruction." In an interview conducted in the context of the Munich Security Conference, and with a European radical right already acting as "strategic putty" for the MAGA movement, the author delivers an unmistakable warning to the Old Continent: "stop being so reactive" and safeguard your institutions.

'Agenda Pública' and TALEÑTO ESPAÑA teamed up to organize the first 'Next Gen Forum', an annual meeting of leaders from the Millennial and Z generations, held in Granada. Many political and business leaders born under democracy met for two days to advance diagnoses and to highlight discrepancies. At the opening session, Marc López Plana, editor and director of Agenda Pública, noted that "within this room are people who will lead Spain into the future, across diverse fields; so far as we know, the first woman President of the Government might be among us today." The following letter is addressed to that woman.

With Peru’s elections just a few months away, National Security researcher J. P. Carroll interviews former Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea Franco. In his view, Nicolás Maduro’s capture amounts to "an irrefutable victory" for "the Venezuelan people, and all the leaders who fought and achieved an irrefutable victory." Regarding the United States he argues that "Washington understands that we are a very important political and economic bastion in South America and in the Pacific."

Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister delegate for Europe, speaks in depth with Jeremy Cliffe for 'Agenda Pública'. From the Munich Security Conference, Haddad argues that "European sovereignty depends on its ability to act as a coercive power if necessary", proposes a capital-markets alliance with Germany, Italy and Spain, warns that "there is no reason for joint debt issuance to be taboo", and concludes that "honesty must be backed by strength and power". "Let us rise as a power," he says, and Europe will have "a much more mature and balanced transatlantic relationship."

Jeremy Cliffe, columnist at 'Agenda Pública' and editorial director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, reports from the 2026 Munich Security Conference on a "good" transatlantic divorce: for the first time, the US and Europe state their differences frankly. Rubio frames his speech around cultural heritage; Macron, Merz, von der Leyen and Sánchez around defence and values. Cliffe highlights Europe’s push for eurobonds, coalitions of the willing and industrial preference to strengthen sovereignty and inject momentum into economic integration.