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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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  • 17September 2004

    Taking place in Riga on 17-18 September 2004, the conference was the second event that the EUISS organised in a new member state. It was organised jointly by the EUISS and the Latvian Institute of International Affairs with the support of the Latvian Ministry of Defence.

  • 10September 2004

    For the third consecutive year, Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP, opened the Institute’s Annual Conference, held in Paris on Friday, 10 September 2004.

  • 02July 2004

    The EUISS Balkans Task Force met in Paris on 2 July, 2004 to discuss the domestic constraints and possibilities in Serbia and Kosovo, and evaluate the state of play in EU policy towards the region.

  • 14May 2004

    This conference, organised jointly with the Institute of International Relations, Prague, took place soon after accession of the Czech Republic to the EU. The Prague office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation contributed to the organisation of the event, and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the participants.

  • 03May 2004

    The purpose of this seminar was to analyse the current situation in the Middle East and to assess the various Western initiatives to deal with the region. How can the European Union and its member states support the ‘Greater Middle East Initiative’ of the US whilst reaffirming the commitment to their own initiatives.

  • 05April 2004

    The aim of the seminar was to discuss with Russian experts and EU officials the state of affairs in Russia after the elections, Russian views on European and international developments.

  • 11March 2004

    The terrorist attack in Madrid on 11 March 2004 was a grim reminder of the global nature and reach of terrorism. Following this event, the EUISS organised a seminar, held in Paris on 7 May 2004, to reflect on the terrorist threat from a European perspective.

  • 01March 2004

    The ninth meeting of the Institute’s Task Force on the Balkans convened on 1 March 2004 to debate the recent elections in Croatia and Serbia. The key questions were the reasons why voters had turned to nationalist and, in the Serbian case, extremist parties, and what could be expected from the new governments.

  • 12January 2004

    On 12 January, the Institute organised a ‘brainstorming’ seminar on flexibility for ESDP that reviewed the latest developments in the Intergovernmental Conference as well as the Council.

  • 20November 2003

    The EUISS participated in the organisation of a major inter-parliamentary conference, led and financed by the European Commission and held at the European Parliament. The conference was organised in the spirit of the G8 Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and under the French presidency of the G8.

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