The EU's military planning capacity is in need of a major overhaul. The lack of a permanent operational planning headquarters undermines peacekeeping performance, and more broadly, the development of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). This Occasional Paper seeks to reconcile the need to address existing deficiencies in military planning and command and control with the general resistance to a permanent military operational headquarters.

The 1999 Helsinki Summit saw EU governments committing to a reform of their military capabilities, better equipping their armies for peacekeeping missions. In this latest EUISS Policy Brief, Daniel Keohane and Charlotte Blommestijn examine just how much progress has been made in the past ten years.

Arguably one the most perilous decisions of his presidency, Barack Obama announced on 1 December an additional 30,000 US troops for the counter-insurgency in Afghanistan. But military power is just one dimension of an international strategy for Afghanistan that needs to emphasise effective multilateral civilian leadership and a stronger Afghan involvement, writes Luis Peral.

While the ESDP is often associated with a failure to strengthen Europe’s military power, it has proven to be an indispensable part of maintaining international security. According to Daniel Keohane, the future success of ESDP not only depends on the Lisbon Treaty, but on the commitment of EU governments.

EUISS Director Álvaro de Vasconcelos reflects on one of the most important legacies of 1989: German reunification and subsequent European integration and democratisation.

The end of the Cold War raised the prospect of a world with fewer weapons but, as Jean Pascal Zanders writes, the nuclear arms race is far from over.

How and why did a formidable Soviet empire come to crumble within the space of a few months? Marcin Zaborowski examines the views from both sides of the former Iron Curtain.

Revised in light of the Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum results, this second edition seeks to define Europe’s long-term security and defence ambitions, concluding with a ten-point ‘roadmap to 2020’ based on the premise that the European Union needs to build both a robust civilian and military capacity on the foundations of what has already been achieved.

This year, the European Security and Defence Policy celebrates 10 years of collective endeavour. In a special issue, the ESDP newsletter revisits the developing structure, the endorsement of the European Security Strategy and the 22 missions which have been launched during the 10 years of ESDP. In Javier Solana’s words, “Ten years ago, ESDP was an aspiration; now it is a reality on the ground, with crisis-management operations making a real difference to people’s lives across the world.”

This book breaks new ground by providing the first comprehensive review of every ESDP operation to date. It explains how the EU institutions responsible for international crisis management have developed and functioned, reviews the civil and military resources available to the ESDP, and analyses the key partnerships between the EU and other international organisations.