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EU foreign policy

With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 and its subsequent implementation, the European Union has gradually assembled the constituent elements of a sui generis 'foreign policy', bringing together various competencies, instruments and resources that were hitherto spread across different institutions and bodies. Although the process is still on-going and progress is, in parts, uneven, certain traits of a more coherent common approach to foreign policy-making are now evident. In the Balkans, the Horn of Africa (both offshore and onshore), the Sahel, or the Middle East, joint and combined forms of external action - including diplomacy, enlargement, CSDP and development activities - are now producing more effective and lasting results.

Analysing the specific actors, instruments, policies, and strategies at the disposal of the Union and assessing their scope and outreach is also a way to illustrate what the EU does in the world - something which is not always known or appreciated by those who directly benefit from its external action, or indeed by European citizens at large. Monitoring performance, in turn, also contributes to improving it, in a constructive manner and on the basis of factual evidence.

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    23September 2016

    Following up on the previously published ‘Defence Matters – EU Key Documents 2013’ and ‘Strategy Matters – EU Key Documents 2003-2014’, this compendium presents the two major documents released by the EEAS in June 2015 and June 2016 as part of the process of strategic reflection leading to the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) on foreign and security policy, elaborated under the aegis of HR/VP Federica Mogherini.

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    29July 2016

    Both Russia and ISIL/Daesh have engaged in aggressive messaging and deceptive media campaigns, albeit with distinct narratives, targets and audiences. This Report analyses the ‘what’ and the ‘how’; and also draws attention to strategic communications efforts undertaken by the EU.

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    22July 2016

    The forthcoming publication of the European Commission’s Defence Action Plan (EDAP) and the likely creation of a European Defence Research Programme (ERDP) make institutional streamlining and creative thinking in the field of defence vital. How can the EU best rationalise its defence policy?

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    22July 2016

    This Alert explains why CSDP ‘White Book’ or a Security and Defence Strategy (SDS) will have to be developed if the EUGS is to be fully implemented. But what should an SDS entail?

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    22July 2016

    This Alert looks at the indications in the EUGS on the way the military instrument(s) at the EU’s disposal should be used, further developed (in a cooperative manner) and connected to other internal and external actors.

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    01July 2016

    What developments in and around Europe have challenged the conceptual and practical boundaries of EU civilian crisis management (CCM)? And what are the implications of the increasing involvement of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agencies?

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    29June 2016

    The strategy, under the title Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe, has been elaborated under the leadership of the High Representative. It reflects the collective views expressed in the process and offers a strategic vision for the EU’s global role. In these challenging times, both for Europe and globally, the strategy highlights common ground and presents a common way forward.

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    04May 2016

    The complex nature of the EU means that the terrorist-related threats it is exposed to are not easily identifiable. In light of the Brussels attacks, this Brief seeks to define the risk profile of the EU in Europe in beyond.

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    19April 2016

    The EUISS Yearbook of European Security (YES) 2016 is the Institute’s annual publication compiling key documents and data related to the EU’s external action for the year 2015. YES is an indispensable publication that aims to inform experts, academics, practitioners and, more generally, all those wishing to know more about the EU and security-related matters through the showcasing of crucial facts and figures.

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    14April 2016

    The EUISS asked 50 well-known analysts and commentators to give their opinion on the priorities that the forthcoming EU Global Strategy should address and how. The resulting contributions are collectively reproduced in this volume and offer a rich selection of independent views intended to nurture the drafting of the strategy.

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  • 04December 2015

    In cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of Austria and the European Stability Initiative, and with the support of the European Fund for the Balkans, the EU Institute for Security Studies organised an event at the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna on 4th December 2015.

  • 08October 2015

    The 2015 Annual Conference of the EUISS was held, exceptionally, in Brussels on 8/9 October and served as the occasion to inaugurate the public consultation and outreach phase that will accompany the preparations of a Global Strategy for the EU in the coming months.

  • 28May 2015

    On Saturday 8 May, the EU institutions opened their doors to the public at the annual EU Open Day in Brussels. Once again the EUISS took part in this event with a stand in the Atrium of the Justus Lipsius building.

  • 22May 2015

    On 22 May, the Atlantic Council hosted the European Union Institute for Security Studies for the latter’s annual transatlantic conference in Washington DC.

  • 21April 2015

    The EUISS organised a conference at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels on 21 April which gathered a number of think tankers, academics and EU and national officials to debate the rapidly-changed global security environment with the HR/VP.

  • 13March 2015

    On 13 March, the EUISS and the China Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) held their annual exchange of views in Beijing.

  • 30January 2015

    On 30 January 2015 the EUISS, in cooperation with the Latvian EU Presidency and the Institute for European Politics in Berlin, organised a conference on EU-Central Asia relations.

  • 12December 2014

    On 12 December 2014, the EUISS hosted a screening of the fly-on-the-wall documentary film The Agreement.

  • 24June 2014

    On 24 June 2014, the EUISS co-hosted a transatlantic workshop on EU-US approaches to Africa with the German Marshall Fund of the United States at the Institut's Paris Headquarters.

  • 23May 2014

    On 23 May, the EU Institute for Security Studies hosted a double event in Brussels ‘Crisis management 2014: the EU record’ in order to present both its ‘Yearbook of European Security: YES 2014’ and the EUISS/EEAS book ‘Crisis Rooms: towards a global network?’

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