Advancing a geopolitical Europe: the new EU leadership and the Iranian conundrum

Abstract Since 2019 European leaders have emphasized the necessity for the EU to proactively project power and embrace its geopolitical responsibilities. Although leaders have developed the concept of a ‘geopolitical EU’ as a new discourse, it remains largely unimplemented. Following the June 2024 elections to the European Parliament, a new EU leadership has taken shape amid escalating geopolitical risks that go beyond Russia's war in Ukraine. This development underscores the urgency of advancing a more robust geopolitical EU. The growing strategic power of Iran, which defines itself as a determined revisionist actor, is perceived as a critical challenge to Europe. This policy paper argues that the EU's current Iran policy is misaligned with its geopolitical ambitions, depicting Iran–EU relations as a geopolitical contestation between a defender and a challenger of the existing international order. In this context, the perspective of a geopolitical EU would create a foundation for the new EU leadership to formulate its foreign policy towards Iran. The EU should enhance institutional and policy coordination to elevate Iran's significance on its geopolitical agenda, and the bloc's new leadership needs to develop a cohesive geopolitical mindset within the EU's decision-making framework. The President of the European Commission should lead efforts to foster a unified approach, while the High Representative should build consensus among member states, aligning with the established geopolitical mindset to engage with Iran. Eventually, the new EU leadership needs to define clear geopolitical objectives and establish effective enforcement mechanisms through its diplomatic, political and economic assets.