Publications

‘It is no longer inconceivable that the territory of an EU member state could be threatened by hybrid tactics or even be occupied by military force. The response to such a contingency could not simply be compartmentalised as a matter solely for NATO.’

‘...the EU should make a significant effort to convey the message that it not only partners with the region’s leaders, but also with its peoples.’

In response to the worsening security environment, cuts to European defence budgets are finally being reversed. In this Brief, defence spending data from 2015 are spliced by region and by category to show how the calculus is changing in defence ministries across Europe.

‘Europe needs to be more open to learning from others; it needs to listen more and lecture less and construct a new European narrative which is more open, inclusive and accommodative.’

‘To adequately confront ISIL, blunt its advance in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and curtail its influence elsewhere, it is essential that a united front is formed, which pools its resources and capabilities, to undertake a campaign that employs extensive power projection, as well as new...

‘Today across the EU some policymakers question whether the Union has already over-expanded. An air of fragility and doubt reigns, and doubt undermines trust’

‘The EU may be a post-imperial power in decline, but this decline is relative and slow. A post-imperial power is not a Switzerland writ large.’

‘Two positive developments in the region are to be supported by the EU: the thaw in relations between Cuba and the US, and the peace process in Colombia.’

A month after Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) submitted its membership application to the EU, this Alert takes a closer look at the CSDP relationship between both partners. The signing of a Framework Participation Agreement in September 2015 is arguably part of a drive to put BiH...

After several years of being largely absent from the agenda, the Western Balkans is back in focus largely due to the refugee crisis. How has this changed the way in which states from the region deal with each other and with the EU?