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Security and defence

The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is an integral part of EU foreign policy. Through its military operations and civilian missions, the EU has contributed to regional and global stability. Since it's inception, the CSDP has responded to a shifting regional security context. It has played a vital role in crisis management in the EU's near and wider neighbourhood but it is also an essential part of the EU's broader approach to the protection of Europe and capacity building.

Although the Lisbon Treaty consolidated the EU's crisis management apparatus, the EU Global Strategy has set a new level of ambition for EU defence. In addition to the CSDP playing an operational role in the EU's integrated approach to crises, the EU Global Strategy has stressed the need for the EU to become a more capable and effective defence actor. Initiatives such as the European Defence Fund, the coordinated annual defence review (CARD) and more coherent financing for EU operations and capacity building efforts are all aimed at supporting the EU's strategic autonomy and the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. The EUISS continues to support the development of CSDP through outreach activities and expert publications.

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    22July 2016
    After the EUGS: connecting the dots
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    The forthcoming publication of the European Commission’s Defence Action Plan (EDAP) and the likely creation of a European Defence Research Programme (ERDP) make institutional streamlining and creative thinking in the field of defence vital. How can the EU best rationalise its defence policy?

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    22July 2016
    After the EUGS: mainstreaming a new CSDP
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    This Alert explains why CSDP ‘White Book’ or a Security and Defence Strategy (SDS) will have to be developed if the EUGS is to be fully implemented. But what should an SDS entail?

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    22July 2016
    After the EUGS: specifying the military tasks
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    This Alert looks at the indications in the EUGS on the way the military instrument(s) at the EU’s disposal should be used, further developed (in a cooperative manner) and connected to other internal and external actors.

  • 13July 2016
    High level seminar on peacekeeping

    On 13 July, the EUISS, together with the UN Liaison Office on Peace and Security (UNLOPS) and the Centre on International Peace Operations (ZIF), co-hosted a seminar on peacekeeping in Brussels.

  • 06July 2016
    EUISS workshop on European Defence: after the EUGS and before Brexit

    On 6 July 2016, the EUISS welcomed a group of experts and officials to discuss the current state of affairs and future opportunities for European defence policy.

  • 05July 2016
    Reshaping EU Civilian Crisis Management

    On 5 July, the EUISS launched its project on ‘Reshaping EU Civilian Crisis Management’ in Brussels.

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    01July 2016
    Euro 2016 – teaming up for security
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    With the UEFA European Championship 2016 having kicked off in France last month, this Alert looks at the unprecedented collaborative efforts of France and its international partners to combat the terrorist threat facing the tournament.

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    01July 2016
    Civilian crisis management: towards a new paradigm
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    What developments in and around Europe have challenged the conceptual and practical boundaries of EU civilian crisis management (CCM)? And what are the implications of the increasing involvement of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agencies?

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    29June 2016
    A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy
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    The strategy, under the title Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe, has been elaborated under the leadership of the High Representative. It reflects the collective views expressed in the process and offers a strategic vision for the EU’s global role. In these challenging times, both for Europe and globally, the strategy highlights common ground and presents a common way forward.

  • 30May 2016
    4th Module of the ESDC High-Level Course

    From 30 May to 3 June 2016, the EUISS supported the 4th Module of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) High-Level Course organised in Berlin by the Bundesakademie für Sicherheitspolitik (BAKS).

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  • 01May 2006
    Long Term Vision
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    Last November, EU Defence Ministers mandated the European Defence Agency (EDA) to develop a Long Term Vision (LTV) for European Military Capability Needs, with the horizon of 2025. This exercise, known as the LTV's Strand One, was developed alongside two parallel and interconnected strands of work, addressing the Future Military Environment and Technological Trends.

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    01April 2006
    The OSCE in crisis
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    The OSCE is in crisis. There can be no doubt but that the OSCE today, as compared to its heyday during the Cold War and in the mid-1990s, is a far less visible landmark on the European institutional landscape than was formerly the case.

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    01April 2006
    Un an après
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    Près d’un an après la crise politique ouverte par les « non » français et néerlandais au référendum sur la Constitution européenne, le bilan de l’Union en matière de sécurité et de défense témoigne toujours d’une dynamique ascendante.

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    01March 2006
    EU security and defence — Core documents 2005 - Volume VI
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    A year of striking contrasts, 2005 will go down in the annals as a year in which the European Union experienced a major political crisis, while at the same time showing remarkable dynamism on the international stage. This volume contains as comprehensive a compendium as possible of the initiatives undertaken by the European Union in the field of security and defence in 2005.

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    01March 2006
    Security by proxy? The EU and (sub-)regional organisations: the case of ECOWAS
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    The European Union (EU) has for a long time paid attention to processes of regional integration and cooperation on other continents. However, the relations the EU has developed with other regional or sub-regional organisations until a very recent period were essentially focused on economic, development and trade issues, partly because of the late emergence of the EU itself as a foreign and security actor.

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    01January 2006
    Friends again?
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    Three years after the crisis ignited by America’s decision to go to war in Iraq, can the United States and the European Union be said to be ‘friends again’? After a rocky and on occasion openly acrimonious period in EU-US relations during George W. Bush’s first presidency,it seems that transatlantic relations have returned to a more harmonious state.

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    01December 2005
    The EU mission in Aceh: implementing peace
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    The EU Monitoring Mission in Aceh (AMM), Indonesia, marks a new step on the path of the Union to becoming a global player. Endowed with a robust mandate including monitoring demobilisation, the decommissioning of arms, the withdrawal of government forces, the reintegration of former combatants and the launch of a new political process, this new ESDP mission has so far provided an effective contribution in ending years of fighting and paving the way to sustainable peace.

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    01December 2005
    ESDP Newsletter No. 1
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    Historically speaking, security and defence are late arrivals on the European agenda. But like all young things, the European security and defence policy is growing fast. We have put in place the necessary decision-making structures and launched a process to enhance European capabilities, which has been given fresh impetus with the creation of the European Defence Agency.

  • 01September 2005
    La politique de sécurité de l'Allemagne
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    Sous l'effet de l'implosion de l'URSS, d'un côté, et de la mondialisation, de l'autre, le contexte stratégique a complètement changé au cours des 15 dernières années. De nouvelles menaces telles que l'hyper-terrorisme, la prolifération des armes de destruction massive et le crime organisé ont remplacé le danger d'une confrontation militaire massive.

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    01September 2005
    EU-US burdensharing: who does what?
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    This Chaillot Paper examines burdensharing patterns between the United States and Europe, focusing in particular on the time period since the 9/11 attacks. It does so by analysing military and civilian burdensharing activities undertaken to address the high-priority challenges identified in the 2002 US National Security Strategy (NSS) and the 2003 European Security Strategy (ESS).

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  • 07March 2003
    Balkans: the transition from a reduced US commitment

    The 8th meeting of the Institute’s Task Force on South-Eastern Europe was held on 7 March 2003 in Paris. Attended by a number of European and American officials and experts, this session assessed the convergences and divergences between EU and US policy in the Western Balkans today and the next imperatives of the international community’s agenda for the region.

  • 01January 2003
    Towards a European non-proliferation strategy

    The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is one of the major security threats facing Europe today. However, a genuine European assessment of the threat is still lacking. This prompted the EUISS to invite a group of European experts and officials to present their analysis of current trends in missile-, nuclear-, biological- and chemical proliferation.

  • 25November 2002
    The decisive intervention. Transatlantic brainstorming on Iraq

    A transatlantic ‘brainstorming’ on Iraq brought together more than 40 officials and experts from both sides of the Atlantic. In the seminar, the options for tackling the Iraqi threat, from UNSC-sponsored inspections to military intervention, were considered. Special attention was paid to the difficulties of the aftermath of a war and occupation, and the implications for the transatlantic alliance and the Middle East region.

  • 07November 2002
    Convention and defence

    On 7 November 2002, at the request of Michel Barnier, chairman of the Working Group (Defence) of the Convention, the EU Institute for Security Studies organised a seminar in Brussels on the future of European defence policy.

  • 11October 2002
    The UN, the EU, NATO and other regional actors: partners in peace?

    A major conference on 'The UN, the EU, NATO and other regional actors: partners in peace?' was hosted by the Institute, in cooperation with the International Peace Academy, on 11-12 October in Paris. The conference focused in particular on the interplay between the United Nations and other organisations in terms of peace operations in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

  • 11September 2002
    The EU and Russia: a security partnership?

    A seminar on 'The EU and Russia: a Security Partnership?', in association with the Russia and Eurasia Programme of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, took place at the Institute on 25 March 2002.

  • 07June 2002
    Madrid Transatlantic Conference

    The Madrid conference was organised in cooperation with the Real Instituto Elcano, under the aegis of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

  • 18March 2002
    European defence after 11 September

    A conference on 'European Defence after 11 September' took place at the Institute on 18 March 2002. The meeting addressed the impact of 11 September and the fight against terrorism on the EU and the ESDP in particular.

  • 01January 2002
    European Defence Book task force

    The first meeting of the European Defence Book Task Force took place in Paris on Monday, 13 May, 2002. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the mission, the method, the structure and the timetable of the European Defence Book (EDB).

  • 02April 2001
    Defining a European Strategic Concept: 2 April 2001

    A seminar entitled ‘Defining a European Strategic Concept’, took place in Paris on 2 April 2001 (Julian Lindley-French). This seminar examined the relationship between the evolution and development of the political and military aspects of European defence.

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