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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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    14November 2014

    This Brief explores potential security challenges linked to climate change. What mitigation and adaptation efforts are governments – and militaries – adopting in order to avoid the worst effects of this global problem?

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    21October 2014

    With the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) highest decision-making body currently meeting to discuss the organisation’s role in shaping future information and communications technology, this Alert explores its growing impact on internet governance.

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    19September 2014

    This Brief provides an assessment of the impacts of the Ebola virus following its rapid expansion across West Africa. But what is the likelihood of the epidemic becoming a threat of global concern? Can the international community now orchestrate a coordinated response to contain its spread?

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    04September 2014

    The EU is taking over Italy’s Mare Nostrum operation, after the arrival of 108,000 irregular migrants in Italian waters. This Brief assesses the prospects for Operation Triton, the Union’s most ambitious border mission to date.

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    27June 2014

    As Islamic extremists continue their advance across Iraq, this Brief takes stock of terrorism-related developments in the Middle East and North Africa. What factors explain the escalation in terror attacks? And what steps – legal or otherwise – are governments taking to counter the ‘jihadi highway’ that now spans the region?

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    13June 2014

    Trade has often been touted as an area where Washington and European capitals – with a little help from Brussels – could create common ground. While regulatory challenges abound, what role does energy play in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership?

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    06June 2014

    Tackling an emotive issue, this Alert provides an overview of what steps the Union has taken in order to deal with uncontrolled maritime migration on its southern borders. What more might be done in order to break the ‘business model’ of organised people smugglers who prey on the vulnerable?

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    28March 2014

    Following the rise of China’s economy and subsequent discussions on the efficient use of resources, this Brief examines how China is seeking to manage its growing import dependency through diversification. With the EU and China becoming the world’s two most important energy importers, what effect will this have on the global energy markets?

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    14March 2014

    The use of information and communication technology is becoming a key asset in crisis management. But how can digitally connected crowds of people add similar value to other policy areas? This Brief contemplates the deployment of crowd-sourcing to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

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    14March 2014

    The rise of cybercrime and the threat this poses to the digital economy has led to increased awareness of the importance of a coordinated approach to internet governance, and of the need for intergovernmental mechanisms to support this. This Brief looks at the prospects for increased cyber defence cooperation at both international and regional levels.

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