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.

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    Feed the world? The challenges of global food security

    The debate around food security is being driven by Malthusian fears fuelled by growing environmental pressures, slow agricultural growth and the projected population increases of the next decades. It is in this context that this brief identifies how the EU can assist in the...

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    Renewables: do they matter for foreign policy?

    Although the politics of renewable energy has remained largely confined to national boundaries and has had few international ramifications to date, this may be about to change. If this is the case, what is and could be the role of renewables in European energy diplomacy?

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    Europe: spread (not lost) in space

    Since the launch of its two ‘flagship programmes’ in the late 1990s, the EU has been increasingly involved in space activities. But despite the new competences as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, the temptation to compare EU space activities and policies with those of other...

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    The usual surprise? Iran’s presidential elections

    This brief explores the presidential campaign underway in Iran, examining the chosen candidates and the internal power struggles of a divided country and highlighting how the tight control of the electoral process is posing a serious challenge the regime’s own commitment to the...

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    The American sequester - and us

    Budget cuts in the US are causing concerns not only because of their effect on security and defence spending, but also because of the particular way in which much of them are set to be administered. This brief argues that as a result of sequestration, the EU would do well to...

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    Nuclear multilateralisation - and Europe’s role

    Although considerable progress has been made regarding the implementation of multilateral nuclear approaches (MNAs) over the past few years, the drive appears to have already lost much momentum since its reinvigoration a decade ago. There is much potential in this realm for the...

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    Global commons: between cooperation and competition

    Shared rules regarding the usage of - and access to - the global commons encourages their peaceful and cooperative use. With the rise of non-Western powers, questions must now be asked regarding the durability of the existing processes for managing the global commons. Are new...