EU Global Strategy Expert Opinion No.27 – Zhimin Chen

If the 2003 European Security Strategy (ESS) correctly identified the central security challenges for the EU, it has undoubtedly been proven ineffective in finding proper methods to deal with them.

While the ESS rightfully proclaimed that ‘Europe has never been so prosperous, so secure nor so free’, the EU is now confronted with multiple internal challenges, ranging from economic problems to the rise of extremist political forces, exacerbated by an ‘arc of instability’ in its neighbourhood.