Defence cooperation

This Brief examines the debates within the EU over the provision of military equipment to third states in order to bolster their capacity for crisis management. What are the technical, legal and political constraints which exist?

The year 2014 was dubbed a ‘game-changer’ for European security. Will 2015 be similar with regard to European defence spending? This Brief explores three possible scenarios.

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.

Space is a strategic asset, and its importance both in terms of technology and security cannot be overestimated.

On the face of it, there is overwhelming support in Europe for a common foreign and defence policy. But is there agreement on what a 'European defence policy' might actually mean? Or do EU citizens only favour common action when it is 'common' on their own terms? To provide some...

The EU Battlegroups (BGs) reached full operational capability on 1 January 2007. However, they have never been deployed since, raising serious doubts about the viability of the overall initiative. This brief examines how, if the EU member states really want the Battlegroups to be...

This report is based on a conference on European defence jointly organised by the EUISS and King’s College London in September. It focuses on CSDP with a view to informing official debates leading up to the upcoming European Council meeting in December. In particular, the report...

A decade after the UN and the EU signed a Joint Declaration on UN-EU Cooperation in Crisis Management, this brief examines the achievements and obstacles faced by the two organisations in this field. With the December 2013 European Council on defence looming, what opportunities...

What sort of armed forces are Europeans likely to have (and need) by 2025? How might Europeans better organise themselves to take part in the new global competition for wealth, influence and power? This report seeks to place European military capabilities in a broader perspective...