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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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    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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    13April 2016
    Envisioning European defence – Five futures
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    This Chaillot Paper – a collective endeavour on which the five authors have collaborated – outlines five possible future scenarios for European defence. The aim is to develop plausible and coherent descriptions of what European defence might look like a decade or two from now in order to point out the choices and decisions that need to be made today.

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    08April 2016
    Tackling the challenges of SSR
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    While the EU is drafting a new strategic framework for Security Sector Reform (SSR), this Alert examines the main challenges that the EU faces in this field.

  • 06April 2016
    The EU and NATO in a more contested world: enabling a genuine strategic partnership

    As part of the series of expert seminars supporting the drafting of the EU Global Strategy, the EUISS and PISM co-organised the seminar 'The EU and NATO in a more contested world: enabling a genuine strategic partnership' in Warsaw on 6 April 2016.

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  • 15July 2005
    NPT breakdown
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    After four weeks of diplomatic arm-wrestling, the 2005 Review Conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York ended on 27 May in failure. The final document adopted by the 153 delegations listed conference officials and how many meetings were held, but did not contain a single decision or recommendation on any important issue

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    01July 2005
    Towards a European Defence Equipment Market
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    Communication, directive or code? The Commission's Green Paper on Defence Procurement has opened a new debate on how to reach the aim of an EDEM. In September 2004, the European Commission (EC) issued a Green Paper on Defence Procurement, proposing various options to improve transparency and openness of defence markets between EU member states.

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    01July 2005
    Attention, danger!
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    On avait accusé les électeurs du « non » d’obscurantisme. Les dirigeants font pire, aggravant par le haut la crise que les électeurs d’en bas ont ouverte au sein de l’Union. Du côté des opinions, le message dominant est que rien ne va plus.

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    01May 2005
    Defence procurement in the European Union
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    In September 2004, the European Commission issued a Green Paper on defence procurement, proposing various options to improve transparency and openness of defence markets between EU member states. The Green Paper opened a discussion on procurement law which rapidly widened into a general debate on how to move towards a common Defence Equipment Market.

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    01May 2005
    L'Union et l'Afrique subsaharienne : quel partenariat ?
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    Depuis le début des années 1990, l'Union poursuit un objectif ambitieux aujourd'hui défini par la Stratégie européenne de Sécurité : contribuer à un monde meilleur. La région du monde à la fois la plus pauvre et la plus sujette à la violence est celle avec laquelle le projet européen entretient une relation datant de ses origines et dont le destin a longtemps été façonné par ses Etats membres : l'Afrique subsaharienne.

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    01April 2005
    Effective non-proliferation: The European Union and the 2005 NPT Review Conference
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    The European Union has identified the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a key threat to its security, and considers the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a cornerstone of its strategy of fighting the spread of WMD. A successful outcome of the NPT Review Conference in May 2005 is thus of essential interest to the Union.

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    01April 2005
    The democratic legitimacy of European Security and Defence Policy
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    Since the EU has assumed responsibility for military operations, questions of democratic legitimacy have become more prominent in European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Although democracy has been a contested concept, four ‘pillars’ can be distinguished that contribute to a democratically legitimate ESDP. This Occasional Paper analyses each of these pillars.

  • 19February 2005
    Bush in Europe II
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    On the eve of what will hopefully be a new start to trans-Atlantic relations, it may be worth recalling some of the European Union's achievements in helping to shape a better and more secure international order. Not just words and nice declarations, but facts and a real ability to deliver.

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    01February 2005
    EU security and defence — Core documents 2004
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    This fifth volume of Core Documents lists the European Union’s decisions and actions in the field of security and defence taken during 2004. Texts concerning ESDP are collected in the first part of this volume. The second part of this work is devoted solely to the Constitutional Treaty.

  • 01January 2005
    Defence procurement: new ways ahead?
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    Important developments are on the way in Europe’s armaments sector. Following the official establishment of the European Defence Agency (EDA), the focus has currently shifted to the Commission’s Green Paper on defence procurement. Published in September, the Green Paper has opened a four-month consultation phase for stakeholders to comment on the Commission’s ideas for a more coherent regulatory framework in this area.

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  • 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).

  • 02April 2001
    Defining a European Strategic Concept: 2 April 2001

    A seminar entitled ‘Defining a European Strategic Concept’, took place in Paris on 2 April 2001 (Julian Lindley-French). This seminar examined the relationship between the evolution and development of the political and military aspects of European defence.

  • 12March 2001
    Towards a European Police Force: 12 March 2001

    A seminar entitled ‘Police for Peacebuilding: what role for the EU?’, took place in Paris on 12 March 2001 (Maartje Rutten). The aim of the seminar was to look at the process of establishing the EU pool of 5,000 police officers. The discussions centred on lessons learned from previous involvement of police in crisis management operations, the specific challenges for the EU in assembling police and ideas for enhancing implementation of the EU plans in this field. Participants comprised representatives from the EU Committee for Civil Aspects of Crisis Management, the Situation Centre/Crisis Cell at the Secretariat General at the EU Council of Ministers, the EU Military Staff, Europol, UN, OSCE, WEU, Gendarmerie and Carabinieri, in addition to many academics.

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