Raising awareness of both existing and emerging foreign and security policy challenges facing the European Union, EUISS Briefs provide key information in a concise, focused format.
This Brief assesses the new setup of the European Commission and the role of the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president (HR/VP). What structural challenges lie ahead? And how can the Commission help facilitate the work of the HR/VP?
If Myanmar today is on the path towards democratic transition, it is also due to the involvement of the European Union. This Brief maps the EU’s efforts to support the peace process in the country, highlighting how it is an original and efficient example of preventive diplomacy...
This Brief examines the many faces of modern Islamism. What are the main streams of political Islam? And how are they linked to both the Sunni/Shiite divide and the violence plaguing the Middle East and North Africa?
This Brief explores the hitherto unimplemented provision of the Lisbon Treaty. What procedures would allow for an Article 44 operation to take place? And what can be done to assuage any concerns associated with the use of the Article?
This Brief provides an assessment of the impacts of the Ebola virus following its rapid expansion across West Africa. But what is the likelihood of the epidemic becoming a threat of global concern? Can the international community now orchestrate a coordinated response to contain...
The EU is taking over Italy’s Mare Nostrum operation, after the arrival of 108,000 irregular migrants in Italian waters. This Brief assesses the prospects for Operation Triton, the Union’s most ambitious border mission to date.
How do states transit to democracy, and why does it seem such a difficult endeavour in the Arab world? This brief explains the conditions required for democratic transitions to succeed, and highlights the many pitfalls that cause states to revert to authoritarianism.
This Brief takes a look at the discussions surrounding ‘exit strategies’ of EU CSDP missions. However defined, work on exit strategies may begin with CSDP – but eventually draws on, and takes to task, all other connected components of EU foreign policy.
EU member states have long avoided applying EU law to defence by extensively relying – implicitly or explicitly – on Article 346. Using recent case law, this Brief shows how this is now becoming increasingly difficult.
This Brief examines the increasing importance of dual-use technologies and their impact on the structure of defence firms in Europe. How is this phenomenon now affecting the capabilities – and the governance – of European defence?
