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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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    13July 2016

    More than six months after the Paris climate talks concluded with a historic agreement, this Brief looks at how key trends in energy technology, investment and geopolitics will influence energy policy decisions across Europe and around the globe?

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    08July 2016

    EU citizens are increasingly migrating abroad as developing countries become more attractive destinations. Diaspora communities are becoming more important, while the emergence of more circular, bi-directional migratory patterns presents an opportunity to turn ‘brain drain’ into ‘brain exchange’

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    07July 2016

    This Report investigates opportunities for improving European strategic thinking on space security. It analyses potential threats to critical European space infrastructure, and offers ideas for improving space system resilience, reducing external dependence, and working with international partners to ensure a secure and sustainable environment for outer space activities.

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    01July 2016

    With the UEFA European Championship 2016 having kicked off in France last month, this Alert looks at the unprecedented collaborative efforts of France and its international partners to combat the terrorist threat facing the tournament.

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    16June 2016

    This Chaillot Paper analyses the factors which have generated the current migration crisis, and emphasises that a balanced policy debate on the challenges and opportunities this phenomenon created by this phenomenon is still lacking. It examines how the devolution of global power means that a new strategy on migration and refugees will need to focus mainly on the world beyond the EU’s borders, providing people with opportunities as close to home as possible.

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    10June 2016

    Europe is playing a numbers game – the mastery of data and information. What can be done to improve the chances of winning? And why is effective communication over the refugee crisis – to EU citizens as well as migrants – so vital?

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    10June 2016

    This Alert seeks to draw attention to the often overlooked problem of Islamic extremist movements in the Balkans. Given the region’s moderate traditions, why are radical Islamist groups now proving so popular?

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    09June 2016

    Thanks to Daesh’s recent territorial gains in Libya, its rivalry with the al-Qaeda network has been taken to the next level. In their battle for supporters, fighters and funding, the jihadists are competing fiercely for the most lucrative ‘industry’ in the region: kidnapping-for-ransom.

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    09June 2016

    This Alert offers an overview of the progress made on the multiple fronts of the war against Daesh. Have the international coalition’s efforts to degrade and destroy the jihadist organisation had a meaningful impact?

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    01June 2016

    This Report, based on the work of the EU committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP EU), focuses on the territorial disputes that currently put peace and stability in the region at risk.

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    14March 2014

    Following the proposal to prepare an EU Cyber Defence Policy Framework at last December's European Council, this Brief seeks to explore how the EU can improve its cyber-defence capabilities and thereby better protect its critical infrastructure. What is there, for example, to be learned from international partners in this ‘greenfield’ domain?

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    28February 2014

    Sub-Saharan Africa is both blessed with immense energy resources and challenged by desperate energy poverty. This Brief explains how, as Europe diversifies its energy suppliers and seeks improved energy security, a focus on better energy governance and improved energy sustainability in Africa can help manage this contradiction.

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    14February 2014
    With contributions from

    This report undertakes an appraisal of global energy trends and lays out priorities for the EU to improve its energy security through action in the international arena. The shale gas revolution in the US, the nuclear meltdown in Japan, the rising use of coal in emerging economies and the shift of economic gravity to the Asia-Pacific have all complicated energy policy-making in Europe.

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    18December 2013

    Following the Climate Change Conference held in Warsaw last month, this alert examines the difficult balancing act facing the EU as it struggles to reduce emissions in a manner that protects both its economy and the environment.

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    06December 2013

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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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