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Transnational challenges

There is a growing overlap between the EU’s internal and external security problems. Terrorism, organised crime and unregulated migration not only pose a threat to European internal security, but also have a serious impact on the stability of Europe’s immediate neighbourhood. Very often, they find their roots in conflicts and instability further abroad in Africa or Asia.

For some time, the European Union has been active in international debates on the governance of these challenges, and has created new policy instruments of its own. Already in the early 1990s, the EU successfully linked its home-affairs priorities with its Common Foreign and Security Policy. The 2015 migration crisis showed the limits of that approach, and has sparked a new wave of reforms.

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    14April 2016
    Tourism, terrorism and migration
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    As certain Western policies backfire, and revisionist economies like Russia and China flex their muscles, this Brief shows how migration, tourism and terrorism are growing in profile, as well as blurring.

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    12April 2016
    Transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation
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    Recent terrorist attacks in Europe have strengthened transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation after trust was shaken by the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden about American surveillance activities. New initiatives seek to address European data protection concerns while deepening collaboration at the EU-level, primarily through Europol.

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    08March 2016
    The Western Balkans: back in the EU spotlight
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    After several years of being largely absent from the agenda, the Western Balkans is back in focus largely due to the refugee crisis. How has this changed the way in which states from the region deal with each other and with the EU?

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    04March 2016
    Zika: a crisis that bites
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    On 1 February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Are the health crisis management structures currently in place, not only in Latin America but also in the EU, ready to face this challenge?

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    04March 2016
    For EU eyes only? Intelligence and European security
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    Intelligence support for the EU’s foreign and security policy has developed from being a small cubicle within Javier Solana’s office into dedicated all-source intelligence units. But what challenges still exist in European intelligence cooperation, and what can be done to bolster it further?

  • 03March 2016
    New kids on the CFSP block: the JHA agencies
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    The EU has embarked on a strategy of upgrading its justice and home affairs agencies in order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its foreign and internal security policies. What steps have been taken? And what more can realistically be done?

  • 03February 2016
    Cyber Security Conference – EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy

    On 3-4 February 2016, EUISS and ICDS co-organised a conference in Estonia on ‪the role of Cyber ‪‎Security in the EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy.

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    29January 2016
    Syrian refugee flows – and ebbs
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    One common assumption has been that refugees are leaving camps in Jordan and Lebanon due to difficult conditions and moving on through Turkey into the EU. But because of the northward shift of the Syrian conflict, the reality is somewhat different.

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    29January 2016
    Refugees versus terrorists
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    With the suspicion that two newly-registered refugees carried out the November Paris attacks, this Alert explores – and debunks – fears that refugee flows from the Middle East have become a backchannel for terrorists entering Europe.

  • 12January 2016
    Climate change and European foreign policy after COP21

    This conference brought together European policy experts to review the COP21 climate conference in Paris, and to discuss the integration of climate change into the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS).

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    06December 2013
    What economies of shale for US foreign policy?
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    This brief explores the impact on US foreign policy of the so-called ‘shale revolution’. With an ever-decreasing dependence on foreign energy producers, is the US on course to become independent from world energy markets? What impact will this have on the (often politically unstable) regions upon which the US has hitherto relied and, perhaps more unsettlingly for Europeans, on the transatlantic partnership?

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    29November 2013
    Crowd-sourcing – crisis response in the digital age
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    Making use of all available resources is of paramount importance to mitigate the social and economic costs of humanitarian and natural disasters. This alert examines how information and communication technologies, coupled with crowd-sourcing – the practice of obtaining information, ideas and services from large (often online) groups of people – are increasingly proving to be valuable tools in tackling some of the key challenges in such situations.

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    08November 2013
    What energy security for the EU
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    With volatility and uncertainty set to define global energy markets in the coming decade, well-designed energy policies will ensure that EU achieves the energy security it desires. How can this be achieved? And is it possible to effectively pursue energy security whilst taking into account environmental concerns – notably those related to climate change?

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    24September 2013
    Disarming Syria
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    Analysing recent unexpected developments in the international reaction to the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, this brief examines how the new emphasis on disarmament may actually open up the prospect of a negotiated end to the conflict.

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    18September 2013
    Cyber world: site under construction
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    This brief argues that the EU is well-placed to play a key role in the field of cybersecurity policy, due to its unquestioned leadership in data protection and commitment to the values of transparency and the rule of law. It examines how, as a security and diplomatic actor, the EU can develop cyberspace policies and capabilities related to the CSDP and significantly influence the international debate on cyber governance.

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    06September 2013
    After the chemical attacks in Syria - now what?
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    In the wake of the chemical attacks that occurred on 21 August in Syria, and the ensuing international outcry, this alert highlights the dangers of instrumentalising chemical warfare allegations in pursuit of other policy goals.

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    15July 2013
    The Wider North - opportunities and challenges
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    With the Arctic emerging as the new geopolitical hotspot, future developments will be defined by the tensions between the exploitation of natural resources and attempts to preserve the region. In this context, the EU, as a champion of regulatory policy, could contribute significantly to the sustainable development of the High North.

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    10June 2013
    Renewables: do they matter for foreign policy?
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    Although the politics of renewable energy has remained largely confined to national boundaries and has had few international ramifications to date, this may be about to change. If this is the case, what is and could be the role of renewables in European energy diplomacy?

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    10June 2013
    Feed the world? The challenges of global food security
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    The debate around food security is being driven by Malthusian fears fuelled by growing environmental pressures, slow agricultural growth and the projected population increases of the next decades. It is in this context that this brief identifies how the EU can assist in the establishment of a resilient and sustainable global agricultural system.

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    07June 2013
    La propreté de l’espace
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    Le 11 mai 2013, il y a eu une fuite à bord de la Station spatiale internationale résultat d’un impact provenant d’une collision avec une micrométéorite ou un petit débris spatial. Cet incident soulève la question des risques de collision dans l’espace et celle des débris orbitaux. Au-delà de l’événement ponctuel, il existe une véritable problématique des débris spatiaux qui concerne l’ensemble des Etats.

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