The terrorist attack in Madrid on 11 March 2004 was a grim reminder of the global nature and reach of terrorism. Following this event, the EUISS organised a seminar, held in Paris on 7 May 2004, to reflect on the terrorist threat from a European perspective.
The Institute organised a seminar entitled Information technology security in the 21st century: implications for the EU. The seminar analysed potential threats to IT systems and their implications for critical infrastructures. Participants discussed national and EU level strategies to limit the risks posed to information technology systems.
The ninth meeting of the Institute’s Task Force on the Balkans convened on 1 March 2004 to debate the recent elections in Croatia and Serbia. The key questions were the reasons why voters had turned to nationalist and, in the Serbian case, extremist parties, and what could be expected from the new governments.
On 12 January, the Institute organised a ‘brainstorming’ seminar on flexibility for ESDP that reviewed the latest developments in the Intergovernmental Conference as well as the Council.
The EUISS participated in the organisation of a major inter-parliamentary conference, led and financed by the European Commission and held at the European Parliament. The conference was organised in the spirit of the G8 Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and under the French presidency of the G8.
The European Union Institute for Security Studies organised, in cooperation with the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a seminar for the PSC, which was held in Brussels on 18 September 2003.
With the current 'big bang' enlargement nearing its conclusion, it has become crucial to assess if and to what extent the European Union can and will widen further. The ISS devoted a seminar to this issue, with participants from both current and future member states.
The Institute’s second Annual Conference, held in Paris on 30 June, was the occasion for Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP and Secretary-General of the EU Council, to deliver his annual speech on CFSP and the state of the Union.
The Rome conference was the second transatlantic conference organised by the EU Institute for Security Studies in 2003. It focused on the EU and US strategic concepts, EU-NATO cooperation, armaments cooperation, and future trends for transatlantic links.
The first meeting of the new Task Force on the Caucasus was held on May 16, 2003 at the EUISS in Paris. The conference was entitled 'Security and Insecurity in the South Caucasus', and brought together officials from concerned European ministries, officials from the EU Council and the Commission and a range of international experts on the region.
