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Security and defence

The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is an integral part of EU foreign policy. Through its military operations and civilian missions, the EU has contributed to regional and global stability. Since it's inception, the CSDP has responded to a shifting regional security context. It has played a vital role in crisis management in the EU's near and wider neighbourhood but it is also an essential part of the EU's broader approach to the protection of Europe and capacity building.

Although the Lisbon Treaty consolidated the EU's crisis management apparatus, the EU Global Strategy has set a new level of ambition for EU defence. In addition to the CSDP playing an operational role in the EU's integrated approach to crises, the EU Global Strategy has stressed the need for the EU to become a more capable and effective defence actor. Initiatives such as the European Defence Fund, the coordinated annual defence review (CARD) and more coherent financing for EU operations and capacity building efforts are all aimed at supporting the EU's strategic autonomy and the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. The EUISS continues to support the development of CSDP through outreach activities and expert publications.

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  • 24February 2017
    ESDC Alumni Seminar 2017

    On 23 and 24 February, the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and the EUISS co-hosted the ESDC Annual Alumni Conference in Brussels.

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    22February 2017
    Women in peacebuilding: the EU & others
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    Since the 1990s, the EU's gender mainstreaming strategy has spread to its foreign policy, including its CSDP. What concrete steps has it taken to promote women in the field of peace and security?

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    31January 2017
    Adapting the Battlegroups
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    The EU Battlegroups (EUBGs) are a military rapid reaction instrument specifically tailored to the Union’s approach to crisis management. This Alert looks at how this external policy instrument can be adapted on the basis of changing needs, as well as lessons learned.

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    31January 2017
    European defence: the year ahead
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    The European Union ended 2016 having agreed to a number of fresh initiatives designed to articulate (and act on) a new level of ambition for security and defence. This Brief assesses Permanent Structured Cooperation (PeSCo) as a potential game changer in the way EU member states cooperate on security and defence.

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    09December 2016
    Winter is coming – Chilly winds across northern Europe
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    Russia’s recent actions in eastern Europe and significant military build-up along its Western border and in the enclave of Kaliningrad has rattled many nerves. This Brief explores how, as a consequence, all the countries in the Nordic-Baltic region are now rearming.

  • 25November 2016
    After the EU Global Strategy: delivering on security and defence

    On 25 November, the EUISS organised an event focusing on the Security and Defence Implementation Plan (SDIP). As a follow up to the EU Global Strategy (EUGS), the Plan sets a new level of ambition for the EU in security and defence.

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    18November 2016
    The military and the machine
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    Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are already disruptive technologies in civilian sectors, and the same is likely to happen when they become more prevalent in the military realm. This Alert focuses on the non-lethal applications of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and how they might impact military capabilities and alter command structures down the road.

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    18November 2016
    EU defence research in development
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    Europe’s shifting security landscape demands concrete action if the EU is to play a role in protecting the continent. This Alert takes a look at some of the pilot projects being launched to deliver tangible results on security and defence.

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    10November 2016
    Managing migration abroad – Why, where, what and how?
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    Because of the intertwining of internal and external security matters, the EU’s model of dealing with crisis is being challenged. This Brief looks at how integrating different approaches and distinct practises across the EU may come to represent the key change for policymakers.

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    10November 2016
    Civilian CSDP: what next?
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    Civilian CSDP missions were downsized in 2016, paradoxically at a time when security needs are growing – with threats largely of a non-military nature. This Brief shows how these changes call for renewed investment in civilian CSDP so that it can find its place in the evolving global crisis management architecture.

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    10October 2008
    Education and training for European defence equipment programmes
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    Cooperative programmes do not have a very positive image in some EU Member States because they have often implied delays, unanticipated costs, and long rounds of negotiations between partnering nations. Participating in a multinational programme without a shared approach and common understanding is bound to lead to problems.

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    25September 2008
    L’Union et les armes légères et de petit calibre (ALPC)
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    En mettant la priorité sur la prévention, l’Union européenne pourrait maximiser l’usage de ses ressources et le soutien des capacités des gouvernements et des sociétés pour lutter contre le fléau des armes légères, explique Damien Helly, chargé de recherche de l’IESUE sur l’Afrique, la prévention des conflits et de la gestion des crises.

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    01September 2008
    EU-UN cooperation in military crisis management: the experience of EUFOR RD Congo in 2006
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    Since its first autonomous military operation in the Congo in 2003, the EU has increased its role in military crisis management around the world. This paper looks at the often disappointing results of EU-UN cooperation, using the example of the EU’s later operation in the Congo in 2006...

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    28March 2008
    Why Kosovo?
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    The newest ESDP mission to Kosovo is a display of unity by the European Union, focused on the goal of ensuring stability grounded on the rule of law, including strict respect for minority rights, in the newly-independent state. The EU must achieve its objective while remaining a magnet for Kosovars and at the same time for the Serbs.

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    03March 2008
    Missile Defence in Europe: the political and security dimensions
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    The debate over missile defence in Europe is likely to remain on the political agenda for the foreseeable future as discussions evolve on both sides of the Atlantic. This policy brief provides basic background information on missile defence and highlights some of the principal political and security aspects associated with missile defence in Europe.

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    06February 2008
    Crisis in Chad: implications for the EU
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    Just when the EUFOR Chad/CAR operation was about to be deployed, a major crisis has erupted in Chad, with several thousand rebels attacking N’Djamena and threatening President Deby’s regime. The current instability, which has forced many citizens to flee the capital, could also impact on the security of civilian populations in the Eastern region where EUFOR was expected to be deployed.

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    01December 2007
    CSDP Newsletter No. 5
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    The EU-Africa summit in Lisbon on 8-9 December 2007 is due to usher in a new stage in the long-standing relations between the two continents with the adoption of a far-reaching joint strategy and a concrete action plan for its implementation.The EU is already the world’s largest donor in Africa and is the continent’s most important economic and trade partner. It has a particular role to play and a particular responsibility towards the African continent.

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    14October 2007
    Lessons learned from European defence equipment programmes
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    This Occasional Paper explores the issue of European armaments cooperation. Such cooperation between countries has often been difficult. Even so, European governments continue to collaborate on multinational equipment programmes for a number of reasons, and successful multinational programmes have manifold benefits.

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    01October 2007
    Pioneering foreign policy: the EU Special Representatives
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    Over the last ten years, the EU Special Representatives (EUSRs) have pioneered EU foreign policy in countries and regions of direct interest to the Union. EUSRs are a face of the Union, enhancing its visibility, and they give it a voice, seeking to deliver a single message to local and international partners, playing an important role in EU foreign policy.

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    01September 2007
    Seeing blue: American visions of the European Union
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    For six decades the United States has supported European integration, yet many Americans have an ambivalent attitude towards the European Union. Some Americans see the EU as the culmination of historic efforts to ensure peace, stability and democracy on the continent, while others consider the Union an elaborate scheme to create a rival to US hegemony. Still others dismiss the EU as irrelevant.

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  • 29January 2007
    ESDP: from Cologne to Berlin and beyond: operations, institutions and capabilities

    In cooperation with the EUISS, the German Presidency of the European Union organised a conference held in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on ESDP: addressing operations, institutions and capabilities.

  • 25September 2006
    Implementing the BTWC: challenges and prospects

    The EUISS held a conference on the Biological and Toxins Weapon Convention (BTWC) in order to examine the challenges associated with the implementation of the BTWC and possible implementation assistance requirements.

  • 30June 2006
    Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo – The State of Play

    This Task Force focussed on Montenegro after the independence referendum and relations with Serbia; domestic developments in Serbian politics especially in the light of the possibility of parliamentary elections in the autumn; and the prospects for a viable settlement of Kosovo's 'final status' this year.

  • 03March 2006
    Developing a European security perspective on China

    In response to the growing interest in Chinese affairs and the manifest uncertainty in the EU about how to approach this new emerging superpower, the EUISS organised on 3 March 2006 a brainstorming seminar dedicated to the development of European security thinking on China.

  • 01February 2006
    The future of ESDP

    This EUISS seminar sought to explore some of the key issues affecting the development of ESDP, its direction and its long-term sustainability.

  • 15January 2006
    The future of EU-US burdensharing

    The Institute organised a seminar on future patterns in burdensharing. Among the key issues analysed was how to define burdensharing in light of today's multifaceted menaces and the type of instruments required to facilitate such cooperation.

  • 01May 2005
    The EU and the NPT 2005 Review Conference

    Convened at the request of the HR’s Personal Representative for the non-proliferation of WMD, Annalisa Giannella, the seminar examined the main challenges for the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and explored possible ways to reach a common EU position.

  • 22April 2005
    Islam in Europe and US security

    The EUISS co-sponsored a Conference on Democracy and Global Islam organised by the Center on Institutions and Governance based at UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies. The conference was the first of its kind to discuss the impact of globalising Islam on Europe's growing Muslim population with regard to US security.

  • 07April 2005
    The EU's Security Agenda and the Western Balkans

    This seminar was organised by the G17 Institute with the assistance of EUISS in Belgrade and sought to introduce Serbian and Montenegrin policy makers, academic experts and journalists to the European Security and Defence Policy and the EU’s Security Strategy.

  • 07March 2005
    The ESDP contribution to the fight against terrorism

    On 7 March 2005, the EUISS organised a seminar in collaboration with the Luxembourg Presidency and the Council of the European Union in order to identify potential ESDP contributions to the fight against terrorism.

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