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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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    01December 2005
    ESDP Newsletter No. 1
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    Historically speaking, security and defence are late arrivals on the European agenda. But like all young things, the European security and defence policy is growing fast. We have put in place the necessary decision-making structures and launched a process to enhance European capabilities, which has been given fresh impetus with the creation of the European Defence Agency.

  • 01September 2005
    La politique de sécurité de l'Allemagne
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    Sous l'effet de l'implosion de l'URSS, d'un côté, et de la mondialisation, de l'autre, le contexte stratégique a complètement changé au cours des 15 dernières années. De nouvelles menaces telles que l'hyper-terrorisme, la prolifération des armes de destruction massive et le crime organisé ont remplacé le danger d'une confrontation militaire massive.

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    01September 2005
    EU-US burdensharing: who does what?
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    This Chaillot Paper examines burdensharing patterns between the United States and Europe, focusing in particular on the time period since the 9/11 attacks. It does so by analysing military and civilian burdensharing activities undertaken to address the high-priority challenges identified in the 2002 US National Security Strategy (NSS) and the 2003 European Security Strategy (ESS).

  • 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.

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  • 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).

  • 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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