Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 came as a real shock to German elites and society alike. Although Russia has been behaving aggressively toward its neighbors since the invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea—part of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory—in 2014, it was only with this most recent military attack that the German leadership came to understand Russia’s behavior as a threat to German and European security.

Change, instability, and transition will characterize the foreign policy environment over the coming months as politicians and citizens grapple with the reverberations of a double-whammy shaking the Western world: the United States, the globe’s premiere power, will once again be led by Donald J. Trump, the country’s chief disrupter, while Germany, Europe’s largest power, has to contend with a tumultuous collapse of its coalition government and an unclear path to new elections. Both events are bound to trigger consequences further afield.

European think tank leaders demand urgent EU sanctions on Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream government for election fraud, violence against civil society, and stalling EU integration. They urge action by December 16, warning that inaction risks Georgia’s slide into authoritarianism and undermines EU credibility. “Every day, Georgians fight for their European future,” the letter states, calling on the EU to stand firmly for democracy and human rights in its neighborhood.