The EUISS conducts its research both topically and regionally, focusing on key strategic importance to EU foreign policy. Alongside the immediate priorities in the EU's neighbourhood, the EU also focuses on emerging regions such as the Far East, as well as on traditional allies such as the United States.
The EU’s relations with the ‘Middle East Region’ actually cover three different but overlapping areas, each of which has its own peculiarities and distinctive relationship with Europe. They are the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf Region.
Russia is the biggest neighbour of the European Union – and one of its most difficult partners. The 2004 Enlargement brought Russia closer to the EU’s borders. The EU and Russia share not only the same neighbourhood, but also a large number of global and regional security challenges.
The diversity of the African continent and its states, the distinct privileged historical links that exist between some Member States and their former colonies, and the corresponding cultural and linguistic affinities, all represent an extraordinary potential for cooperation, and this extends to the as yet barely developed area of peace and security.
Reflecting the evolving priorities of EU foreign policy, the EUISS has begun developing research on Asia. The aspects the Institute focuses on are: the global implications of the rise of China and India, China’s role in Africa and the Middle East, security and international relations in East Asia, and non-proliferation.
EU policy in the Western Balkans is based on stabilisation through integration. Following the 1999 crisis in Kosovo and NATO intervention, the EU member states recognised that a comprehensive policy for the whole region was needed, and in 2000 the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) was launched.
The United States is the closest partner of the EU. The strength of EU-US relations rests on historical bonds, converging interests and commonality of values. Cooperating with the US represents an important aspect of almost all areas of EU foreign policy, whether in the context of the Balkans, the Middle East or Central Asia.
EU policy logically links the ENP, the Mediterranean Partnership and the Middle East peace process in different overarching policy frameworks together. Relations with the GCC countries, Iran, Iraq and Yemen, in contrast, are bilateral in nature. As well, the Iranian nuclear issue has become a crucial issue for CFSP.
The EU’s Eastern neighbourhood is a region in transition. Diverging foreign policy orientations, frozen conflicts, and low levels of inter-state cooperation further fragment and polarise the region. Competition with Russia also make it difficult for the EU to respond adequately to the challenges in the region.
The election of Hassan Rouhani has confirmed the vibrancy and necessity of the electoral process in Iran. But if the new president-elect is to now embark on a course correction of Iranian politics, he will have to contend with formidable and complicated elements within the state structure: the security establishment, a parliament dominated by various conservative factions, and the supreme leader himself.
The debate around food security is being driven by Malthusian fears fuelled by growing environmental pressures, slow agricultural growth and the projected population increases of the next decades. It is in this context that this brief identifies how the EU can assist in the establishment of a resilient and sustainable global agricultural system.
The recent appointment of experienced diplomats to Obama’s foreign policy team equally indicates a primarily political and pragmatic approach towards foreign policy, as well as a return of a transatlantic orientation - while continuing to 'rebalance', towards Asia. But what do these appointments mean for EU-US relations?
The Institute’s Yearbook of European Security (YES) contains key facts, figures, chronological lists, documents and maps relating to the EU’s external security dimension. Its purpose is to present a comprehensive picture of what the EU has achieved in the security policy domain during the preceding year/s. The inaugural edition covers 2011 and 2012, and includes a mapping section on foresight practices and trends in governments.
This study, the first of a new, restyled series of Chaillot Papers, focuses on how EU sanctions - or restrictive measures - work by providing an analytical framework to evaluate their success. In addition, it presents recommendations on how to improve the sanctioning process and elaborates on the future role of what has arguably become the most important foreign policy tool of the EU in recent years.
What sort of armed forces are Europeans likely to have (and need) by 2025? How might Europeans better organise themselves to take part in the new global competition for wealth, influence and power? This report seeks to place European military capabilities in a broader perspective and demonstrate how the only way to safeguard common ‘strategic interests’ and counter potential risks is to do more together.
The 2013 annual conference of the EU Institute for Security Studies, entitled ‘European Security. Taking stock and moving forth’, took place in Paris on 23 and 24 May. In addition to a keynote address by HR/VP Catherine Ashton, the conference provided a platform to present the new team of the Institute as well as the first EUISS Yearbook.
The EUISS marked Europe Day by participating in the Open Doors Day organised by the European Council on Saturday 4 May in Brussels.
This workshop organised jointly by the EU Institute for Security Studies and the European External Action Service examined the challenges of piracy and crime at sea as well as the broader challenges to security, governance and development within the region.
