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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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    06November 2013
    CSDP between internal constraints and external challenges
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    This report is based on a conference on European defence jointly organised by the EUISS and King’s College London in September. It focuses on CSDP with a view to informing official debates leading up to the upcoming European Council meeting in December. In particular, the report stresses the importance of EU member states strengthening their political and financial commitment to CSDP, as well as the key role of the EU institutions in fostering cooperation and coordination.

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    18October 2013
    Civil wars: a very short introduction
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    As the conflict in Syria rages on, this brief provides a succinct analysis of the causes and consequences of the longest, and bloodiest, of all forms of human conflict. Why do civil wars break out? And more importantly, how can they be brought to an end?

  • 19September 2013
    CSDP between internal constraints and external challenges: the road ahead

    The EUISS, in collaboration with King´s College London, organised a conference in London on 19 and 20 September in order to develop a series of practical proposals on CSDP leading up to the December 2013 European Council.

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    13September 2013
    The added value of CSDP operations
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    For the EU to continue to attract civilian and military contributions from member states it needs to show its comparative advantage over other actors in bringing about lasting peace and security. This brief explores the question of the ‘added value’ of the CSDP compared to NATO and UN as well as to other EU instruments deployed in response to crises.

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    13September 2013
    Setting the stage for the defence summit
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    This alert examines the role of the EU as a security provider in the light of recommendations contained in a report issued by HR/VP Catherine Ashton in the run-up to the European Council in December. The report underlines the need to enhance the CSDP with credible defence capabilities.

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    13September 2013
    Partnering in crisis management: ten years of EU-UN cooperation
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    A decade after the UN and the EU signed a Joint Declaration on UN-EU Cooperation in Crisis Management, this brief examines the achievements and obstacles faced by the two organisations in this field. With the December 2013 European Council on defence looming, what opportunities exist to further enhance this partnership?

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    11September 2013
    Drones for Europe
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    The unmanned revolution in military affairs is reshaping global power and the conduct of warfare. This brief highlights the implications of drone adoption for the EU: from industrial base issues to force structure, from public support to the development of appropriate battle-networks.

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    26July 2013
    Securing the future of European defence
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    This alert explores the Communication ‘Towards a more competitive and efficient defence and security sector’, adopted by the European Commission on 24 July, demonstrating how it makes an important contribution to the efforts to bolster the Common Security and Defence Policy.

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    08July 2013
    Afghanistan: enter 2014
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    As the twelfth year of military engagement in Afghanistan draws to a close, NATO troop numbers are set to be significantly reduced and reoriented to training Afghan forces rather than carrying out executive security functions. But how will international actors (including the EU) recalibrate their approach in order to ensure stability in both Afghanistan and the wider region?

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    03June 2013
    What is new in the ‘global war on terror’
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    This alert examines President Obama’s recent speech at the National Defense University, in which he laid out the US approach to counter-terrorism and redefined the parameters of the ‘global war on terror’. But if this speech marks a new beginning, what are the possible ripple effects across the Atlantic for Europe?

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  • 20November 2001
    Défense : plus, plus vite et mieux
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    Loin d’en détruire la pertinence et la légitimité, les nouvelles menaces terroristes évidentes depuis le 11 septembre jouent comme autant de facteurs d’accélération pour la mise en œuvre d’une politique européenne de sécurité et de défense (PESD). Les raisons en sont multiples...

  • 01November 2001
    Beyond the Kosovo elections - the EU needs to act
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    The 17 November elections in Kosovo confirmed the prognosis that Ibrahim Rugova and his LDK would win. Two surprising developments that merit attention are the unexpectedly strong showing by Hashim Thaci and his party and the relatively strong participation by the Serbs

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    01November 2001
    Aspects juridiques de la politique européenne de sécurité et de défense
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    Déjà lors du Traité de Maastricht, l’Union européenne se donnait pour objectif d’affirmer son identité sur la scène internationale, notamment par la mise en œuvre d’« une politique étrangère et de sécurité commune, y compris la définition à terme d’une politique de défense commune, qui pourrait conduire, le moment venu, à une défense commune ».

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    02October 2001
    Enlargement: a new NATO
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    What is NATO for? The question, which some may find provocative, is none the less the essential one concerning the future of the Alliance – its legitimacy, its missions and its desirable or foreseeable geographical enlargement. Logically, the Allies should agree on the Alliance’s future role and priorities before deciding on the next enlargement – which is due to happen in May 2002.

  • 01October 2001
    11 Septembre : impact sur l’élargissement de l’OTAN
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    Après les attentats du 11 septembre, les débats sur l’OTAN et son élargissement devront tenir compte de deux évolutions majeures :le recours à l’article 5, dès le 12 septembre, pour exprimer la solidarité atlantique contre le terrorisme d’une part ; la coopération américano-russe dans la lutte anti-terroriste d’autre part.

  • 01October 2001
    11 September: US Policy & Transatlantic Relations
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    The impact on US Foreign Policy What are the implications for the direction of US foreign and security policy in the wake of the attacks on 11 September? Will it become more multilateralist or unilateralist? How will it affect transatlantic relations?

  • 01October 2001
    The EU's Military and Civilian Crisis Management Instruments after 11 September
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    The EU, directly after the attacks on the US on 11 September, stated its solidarity with and willingness to support the US. Consequently, the question that arises is: what concrete changes will take place/are needed in EU security-related policies and instruments in order to realise such support

  • 01October 2001
    11 September: Security and Defence revisited
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    Recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington raise the question whether similar attacks could also take place in Europe. Is the threat of catastrophic terrorism the same for EU members as for the US? Or does it create different zones of security and vulnerability within NATO and the EU?...

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    01October 2001
    Reconciling the prince's two 'arms'. Internal-external security policy coordination in the European Union
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    The blurring of the distinction between internal and external security, and the connected impulse towards better coordination between the correspondent policy fields, are among the fundamental structural changes in international relations that have occurred during the last decades. Such overall trends were accentuated and made particularly evident in Western Europe by progress in supranational integration.

  • 27September 2001
    L’Europe doit repenser l’Union
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    L’énorme cacophonie stratégique qui n’en finit pas d’émerger des ruines du World Trade Center affectera aussi les règles et la dynamique traditionnelles de la construction européenne. Moteurs d’intégration accrue, les attentats du 11 septembre le seront au moins pour trois raisons.

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