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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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  • 11September 2014

    The EUISS held its annual conference on 11/12 September in central Paris. This year’s event, entitled ‘European security in a changing global environment’, was an opportunity to convene numerous policy planners and think tankers from across the Europe to discuss European security during a period of major institutional change within the Union.

  • 09September 2014

    La version abrégée du Yearbook of European Security (YES) en français propose des faits, données, chronologies, documents et cartes essentiels à la compréhension de la politique de sécurité de l’Union européenne au cours de l’année 2013.

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    18July 2014

    This Brief takes a look at the discussions surrounding ‘exit strategies’ of EU CSDP missions. However defined, work on exit strategies may begin with CSDP – but eventually draws on, and takes to task, all other connected components of EU foreign policy.

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    11July 2014

    EU member states have long avoided applying EU law to defence by extensively relying – implicitly or explicitly – on Article 346. Using recent case law, this Brief shows how this is now becoming increasingly difficult.

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    04July 2014

    This Brief examines the increasing importance of dual-use technologies and their impact on the structure of defence firms in Europe. How is this phenomenon now affecting the capabilities – and the governance – of European defence?

  • 19June 2014

    The EU Military Staff, in cooperation with the EU Institute for Security Studies, organised a High-Level Conference entitled ‘Learning by doing - Military lessons learnt within the Comprehensive Approach’ in Brussels on 19-20 June 2014.

  • 06June 2014

    On 6 June 2014, the EUISS co-hosted the third seminar of a series of events on the role of the military in CSDP with the French MOD think tank, l'Institut de Recherche stratégique de l’Ecole militaire (IRSEM).

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    23May 2014

    The EUISS Yearbook of European Security (YES) 2014 is the Institute’s annual publication compiling key documents and data related to the EU’s CFSP and CSDP for the year 2013. The 2014 edition also includes chapters on new actors in the Arab political landscape post-2011 as well as on the evolution of defence spending across Europe. Visually appealing maps, graphs and charts provide added clarity on some of the key issues facing the European Union and its external action today.

  • 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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    16May 2014

    With EU and US cooperation in crisis management going from strength to strength – particularly on the African continent – this Brief provides an overview of the successes to date, and displays how the evolution of the Union’s CSDP is allowing for a stronger transatlantic partnership in the realm of international security.

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  • 13February 2003

    Whether or not there will be a war against Iraq, the debate over war has already claimed a victim: the vision of the European Union as a global actor.

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    01February 2003

    This Chaillot Paper has three parts. The first consists of documents on the development and implementation of ESDP. The second brings together significant texts and contributions to the Convention concerning CFSP and ESDP, and the third documents connected with the fight against terrorism.

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    01January 2003

    The idea behind this transatlantic book predates the intense transatlantic exchanges that took place prior to the war in Iraq in early 2003. The run-up to the passage of UN Resolution 1441 in November 2002 provided clear indications that Euro-American relations were about to enter previously uncharted territory.

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    01January 2003

    Depuis 1999, l’Union européenne (UE) développe sa capacité globale (militaire et non militaire) de gestion des crises dans le cadre de la Politique européenne de Sécurité et de Défense (PESD). La « déclaration d’opérationnalité de la PESD », adoptée lors du Conseil de Laeken, constitue un pas important de ce développement.

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    01December 2002

    UNSC Resolution 1441 has given the Iraqi regime a last opportunity to abandon any WMD programmes. If Iraq does not comply fully with the resolution or if inspections show that Iraq is indeed hiding WMD, the Security Council will have to consider the situation and decide what measures must be taken to maintain international peace and security.

  • 01December 2002

    Bearing in mind that the Iraqi issue is and will remain high on the European and transatlantic agendas, the EU Institute for Security Studies has decided to examine it thoroughly through a series of publications and activities. The following texts are so far available

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    01November 2002

    The commitment to create a credible military capability for Europe lies at the heart of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). A credible defence capability does not depend exclusively on sound armed forces but also on swift projection of these forces into theatres of operations.

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    01October 2002

    The principal question of this Chaillot Paper is what guiding model (Leitbild) the EU should adopt with regard to CFSP. This paper suggests that the EU’s external activities should be based on a ‘cooperative security provider’ model, embracing civilian, military and normative elements in a comprehensive approach to peace and security.

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    01September 2002

    One year on, the only thing that is systematic about the international system is its disorder. The United States, shaken to the core by the terrorist attacks and the fraud perpetrated by leaders of globalised companies, is relentlessly pursuing its course down the path of unilateralism.

  • 17July 2002

    Die jüngste Diskussion um die Finanzierung wichtiger Rüstungsprojekte hat einmal mehr die Engpässe im deutschen Verteidigungshaushalt aufgezeigt. Noch ist der Start des Airbus A400M finanziell nicht gesichert, da kündigt sich bei der Bewaffnung für den Eurofighter (Stichwort: Meteor-Rakete) neues Ungemach an. Auch im Streit um die Anschaffung des neuen Schützenpanzers "Panther" spielen neben Terminfragen finanzielle Aspekte eine gewichtige Rolle

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