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.
La nécessité de finaliser l’adoption du futur cadre financier pluriannuel d’ici la fin de l’année 2013 entraine des négociations interinstitutionnelles intenses. Ce plan budgétaire, qui prévoit les montants maximums de dépenses pour les sept prochaines années, s’appuie sur une redéfinition des priorités de l’UE, y compris pour les aspects sécuritaires de ses politiques.
On 30 April 2013, the ECHR ruled that Yulia Tymoshenko had been subjected to arbitrary and unlawful detention before her trial in 2011. Yet, even if Tymoshenko’s case epitomises much of what is currently wrong with Ukraine’s politics, the problems facing the country are complex and cannot be reduced to the (mis)treatment of one politician.
The upcoming elections will act as an important indicator of Pakistan’s improving capacity to build a secure political order for its citizens. With a changing electorate and a new institutional balance of power, Pakistan now has the opportunity to establish a new political narrative that builds on the country’s pluralism.
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.
Since the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997, much progress has been made in destroying existing stockpiles of chemical weapons. However, the CWC is faced with new threats and challenges due to advances in science and technology and the changing international security, political and economic environment. On the eve of the Third Review Conference of the treaty, this report examines some of the most pressing challenges facing the CWC over the next decade.
Taking place in Washington, D.C on the 13-14 March, the 2013 EUWF served as a reminder that diplomacy, development and defence are all important elements in attempts to maintain stability and generate growth, even in times of budgetary constraints.
On Friday 25 January, the EUISS was pleased to welcome Ms Helga Schmid, Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs in the EU's European External Action Service (EEAS) at the Institute for an informal exchange of views with Paris-based think tankers.
The IV India-EU forum took place in Brussels on 23 and 24 October 2012 and was organised by the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) in cooperation with FRIDE.
