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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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  • 05July 2016
    Reshaping EU Civilian Crisis Management

    On 5 July, the EUISS launched its project on ‘Reshaping EU Civilian Crisis Management’ in Brussels.

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    01July 2016
    Euro 2016 – teaming up for security
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    With the UEFA European Championship 2016 having kicked off in France last month, this Alert looks at the unprecedented collaborative efforts of France and its international partners to combat the terrorist threat facing the tournament.

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    01July 2016
    Civilian crisis management: towards a new paradigm
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    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
    A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy
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    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.

  • 30May 2016
    4th Module of the ESDC High-Level Course

    From 30 May to 3 June 2016, the EUISS supported the 4th Module of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) High-Level Course organised in Berlin by the Bundesakademie für Sicherheitspolitik (BAKS).

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    26May 2016
    US forces – between Europe and Asia
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    Recent developments to the east and south of Europe have pushed European defence back onto the agenda in Washington. What steps has the US taken to guarantee the security of its transatlantic allies? And are they enough?

  • 25May 2016
    Washington Forum 2016

    The 2016 EUISS Washington Forum took place on 25 May and was hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP).

  • 24May 2016
    Arab defence industries: implications for the United States and Europe

    Two EUISS Senior Analysts were hosted by the Atlantic Council in the US capital to discuss developments in defence industries in the Middle East.

  • 17May 2016
    The future of European defence

    On 17 May 2016, the EUISS hosted a launch event for the recently published Chaillot Paper ‘Envisioning European defence: five futures’. This launch event provided a forum for analysts, policymakers and interested stakeholders alike to better understand how the choices of today will impact the European defence of tomorrow.

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    19April 2016
    EUISS Yearbook of European Security 2016
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    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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    01July 2006
    ESDP Newsletter No.2
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    As we finalise this second issue of the ESDP newsletter, the European Union is about to launch its fourth military operation under the European Security and Defence Policy: the UN force, MONUC, during the crucial electoral period in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The newsletter places the new mission in the context of the EU's strong, long-standing and multifaceted commitment to the DRC and its transition process.

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    01July 2006
    Gender mainstreaming: implementing UNSCR 1325 in ESDP missions
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    The European Council in December 2005 welcomed the paper produced by the Council General Secretariat on Implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the context of ESDP (doc.11932/2/05). The EU Institute for Security Studies was invited to conduct a case study on gender mainstreaming in ESDP operations, with specific reference to the missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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    01June 2006
    Civilian crisis management: the EU way
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    The operational progress in civilian crisis management made by the EU since 1999 has been impressive and has helped to enhance the EU's reputation as a credible security provider. However, the realisation of EU political objectives related to the strengthening of international security does not depend merely on the improvement of the EU's operational capabilities.

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    29May 2006
    Russian perceptions and approaches to cooperation in ESDP
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    The European Union Institute for Security Studies was given the role of deepening cooperation with the Russian academic community in the field of crisis management. This paper is a first product of this joint research project. The objective here was for Professor Nikitin to explore in a frank manner how Russian elites and observers view the EU, ESDP and key security developments around Russia.

  • 01May 2006
    Long Term Vision
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    Last November, EU Defence Ministers mandated the European Defence Agency (EDA) to develop a Long Term Vision (LTV) for European Military Capability Needs, with the horizon of 2025. This exercise, known as the LTV's Strand One, was developed alongside two parallel and interconnected strands of work, addressing the Future Military Environment and Technological Trends.

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    01April 2006
    The OSCE in crisis
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    The OSCE is in crisis. There can be no doubt but that the OSCE today, as compared to its heyday during the Cold War and in the mid-1990s, is a far less visible landmark on the European institutional landscape than was formerly the case.

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    01April 2006
    Un an après
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    Près d’un an après la crise politique ouverte par les « non » français et néerlandais au référendum sur la Constitution européenne, le bilan de l’Union en matière de sécurité et de défense témoigne toujours d’une dynamique ascendante.

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    01March 2006
    EU security and defence — Core documents 2005 - Volume VI
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    A year of striking contrasts, 2005 will go down in the annals as a year in which the European Union experienced a major political crisis, while at the same time showing remarkable dynamism on the international stage. This volume contains as comprehensive a compendium as possible of the initiatives undertaken by the European Union in the field of security and defence in 2005.

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    01March 2006
    Security by proxy? The EU and (sub-)regional organisations: the case of ECOWAS
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    The European Union (EU) has for a long time paid attention to processes of regional integration and cooperation on other continents. However, the relations the EU has developed with other regional or sub-regional organisations until a very recent period were essentially focused on economic, development and trade issues, partly because of the late emergence of the EU itself as a foreign and security actor.

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    01January 2006
    Friends again?
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    Three years after the crisis ignited by America’s decision to go to war in Iraq, can the United States and the European Union be said to be ‘friends again’? After a rocky and on occasion openly acrimonious period in EU-US relations during George W. Bush’s first presidency,it seems that transatlantic relations have returned to a more harmonious state.

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  • 01April 2003
    The EU and the US: partners in stability?

    The April 2003 Transatlantic Conference, The EU and the US: partners in stability?, was held in Paris. Bringing together officials and academics from both sides of the Atlantic, the conference analysed the state of transatlantic relations after the invasion of Iraq.

  • 07March 2003
    Balkans: the transition from a reduced US commitment

    The 8th meeting of the Institute’s Task Force on South-Eastern Europe was held on 7 March 2003 in Paris. Attended by a number of European and American officials and experts, this session assessed the convergences and divergences between EU and US policy in the Western Balkans today and the next imperatives of the international community’s agenda for the region.

  • 01January 2003
    Towards a European non-proliferation strategy

    The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is one of the major security threats facing Europe today. However, a genuine European assessment of the threat is still lacking. This prompted the EUISS to invite a group of European experts and officials to present their analysis of current trends in missile-, nuclear-, biological- and chemical proliferation.

  • 25November 2002
    The decisive intervention. Transatlantic brainstorming on Iraq

    A transatlantic ‘brainstorming’ on Iraq brought together more than 40 officials and experts from both sides of the Atlantic. In the seminar, the options for tackling the Iraqi threat, from UNSC-sponsored inspections to military intervention, were considered. Special attention was paid to the difficulties of the aftermath of a war and occupation, and the implications for the transatlantic alliance and the Middle East region.

  • 07November 2002
    Convention and defence

    On 7 November 2002, at the request of Michel Barnier, chairman of the Working Group (Defence) of the Convention, the EU Institute for Security Studies organised a seminar in Brussels on the future of European defence policy.

  • 11October 2002
    The UN, the EU, NATO and other regional actors: partners in peace?

    A major conference on 'The UN, the EU, NATO and other regional actors: partners in peace?' was hosted by the Institute, in cooperation with the International Peace Academy, on 11-12 October in Paris. The conference focused in particular on the interplay between the United Nations and other organisations in terms of peace operations in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

  • 11September 2002
    The EU and Russia: a security partnership?

    A seminar on 'The EU and Russia: a Security Partnership?', in association with the Russia and Eurasia Programme of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, took place at the Institute on 25 March 2002.

  • 07June 2002
    Madrid Transatlantic Conference

    The Madrid conference was organised in cooperation with the Real Instituto Elcano, under the aegis of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

  • 18March 2002
    European defence after 11 September

    A conference on 'European Defence after 11 September' took place at the Institute on 18 March 2002. The meeting addressed the impact of 11 September and the fight against terrorism on the EU and the ESDP in particular.

  • 01January 2002
    European Defence Book task force

    The first meeting of the European Defence Book Task Force took place in Paris on Monday, 13 May, 2002. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the mission, the method, the structure and the timetable of the European Defence Book (EDB).

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