Executive Briefings

Emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs) as a component of national security have made dual-use innovation a defining feature of today’s geopolitical landscape.

Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have improved so rapidly since November 2022, when ChatGPT gained widespread public attention, that it has been disorienting for businesses and governments. 

Europe’s submarine cable infrastructure faces a rising threat of sabotage. Governments and industry are responding by ramping up efforts to enhance resilience through additional networks, funding emergency repair capabilities and investing in surveillance tools. 

Public investment in European defence has increased significantly but concerns are mounting about the sustainment and sufficiency of funding. Given the limited fiscal headroom for further defence-spending growth in Europe, the role for the private sector in funding defence innovation is becoming ever more crucial.

Europe’s supply chain of critical raw materials – essential to green, digital, defence and aerospace technologies – increasingly faces risks from armed conflict, geopolitical misalignment and the ‘weaponisation’ of trade policies.

Russia has escalated its cyber and influence operations, and sabotage of digital infrastructure, exerting asymmetric pressure on governments and businesses alike.