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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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  • 25February 2016
    ESDC alumni seminar

    This seminar was co-organised by the EUISS, the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), the Egmont Institute, and the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU.

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    23February 2016
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    Report of the Group of Personalities on the Preparatory Action for CSDP-related research

    In 2015, the European Commission invited key personalities from European industry, government, the European Parliament and academia to advise it on establishing a Preparatory Action on Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)-related research. This Report is the result of several months of regular conversation and consultation among a group of experts encompassing the ‘sherpas’, officials from the European Commission and the EUISS.

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    17February 2016
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    The EU and Africa: a changing security partnership

    With Africans increasingly taking charge of security governance on their continent, this Brief assess to what extent the African Union’s partnership with the EU is truly strategic. Have the two continents finally managed to overcome the donor-recipient dynamic which long dominated their relationship?

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    17December 2015
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    Mutual defence – one month on

    A month after France invoked the mutual defence clause of the Lisbon Treaty, this Alert looks at the symbolic significance of the article and the implications of its invocation. What does it mean for the Union as a security actor?

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    27November 2015
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    Gender balancing in CSDP

    How successful has the EU been in implementing gender mainstreaming and achieving gender balance in its CSDP missions and operations?

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    20November 2015
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    After Paris: why (now) the Lisbon Treaty

    A week after the shocking events in Paris, the EUISS Director looks at France’s decision to seek the solidarity of its EU partners. Could member states now make use of instruments they created some time ago and have rarely thought about since?

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    13November 2015
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    Defence & technology: the US between Silicon Valley and European allies

    In response to concerns of losing technological superiority, the US is implementing the Defense Innovation Initiative. This intends to ensure that the Pentagon leverages breakthrough technologies from the traditional defence industrial base and commercial-technology sector alike. Also, what role can Europe play in the US third offset strategy?

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    28October 2015
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    Hybrid operations: lessons from the past

    This Brief examines the rise of hybrid threats, focusing in particular on Russia’s ongoing info-war against the West. Could the ‘psychological defences’ developed by several countries in Western Europe during the Cold War to counter Soviet propaganda now inspire the EU?

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    28October 2015
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    Hybrid: what’s in a name?

    The first in a mini-series of short publications on hybrid warfare, this Brief takes a closer look at what the widely-used term actually means. Now that the European Union considers itself a potential target of hybrid threats, what can it do to prepare an effective strategy to counter them?

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    28October 2015
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    Hybrid tactics: ISIL & Co.

    The last in a mini-series of EUISS publications on hybrid warfare, the Alert assesses the tactics employed by terrorist groups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) such as ISIL. How do they differ from those of state actors in other parts of the world?

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    20December 2013
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    European defence – to be continued

    In the final alert of 2013, EUISS Director Antonio Missiroli offers his take on the Conclusions of the European Council on defence. Can its outcome be considered a turning point for European defence? And what developments lie on the horizon of a debate that is far from over?

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    19December 2013
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    Peacebuilding in 3D: EU and US approaches

    This Chaillot Paper examines the concept of peacebuilding and the emergence in recent years of a comprehensive approach to conflict management that combines both civilian and military instruments. It highlights the importance of peacebuilding as a foreign policy goal and analyses US and EU approaches to the issue, focusing on the likely future trajectory of transatlantic cooperation in this area.

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    22November 2013
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    Broader challenges, smaller budgets: the future of the US military

    This alert examines the priority reforms identified by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in order ensure that the US military remains ready to counter the full range of future threats. With smaller budgets forcing European governments to make difficult choices, are there lessons to be drawn from Hagel’s observations?

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    22November 2013
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    What EU citizens think about European defence

    On the face of it, there is overwhelming support in Europe for a common foreign and defence policy. But is there agreement on what a 'European defence policy' might actually mean? Or do EU citizens only favour common action when it is 'common' on their own terms? To provide some answers, this brief takes a detailed look at the polls on the matter and explores the assumptions that underlie them.

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    21November 2013
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    YES 2013 – Gekürzte Ausgabe – deutsch

    Die gekürzte Ausgabe des Yearbook of European Security (YES) auf Deutsch beinhaltet grundlegende Fakten, Grafiken, Chroniken und Karten mit Blick auf die externe Sicherheit der EU. Sie gibt einen umfassenden Überblick über die sicherheitspolitischen Aktivitäten der EU in den Jahren 2011 und 2012.

  • 21November 2013
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    YES 2013 – Version abrégée – français

    La version abrégée du Yearbook of European Security (YES) en français propose des faits, chiffres, chronologies, documents et cartes essentiels à la compréhension de la politique de sécurité de l’Union européenne au cours des années 2011 et 2012.

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    15November 2013
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    EU Battlegroups – ready to go?

    The EU Battlegroups (BGs) reached full operational capability on 1 January 2007. However, they have never been deployed since, raising serious doubts about the viability of the overall initiative. This brief examines how, if the EU member states really want the Battlegroups to be Europe’s flagship military rapid response tool, they may have to address the challenges that continue to plague the BGs’ credibility and effectiveness.

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    15November 2013
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    Ten years of EU military operations

    On the eve of the European Council´s summit on defence, the EU´s six military operations to date can be considered to have been carried out with a certain degree of success. This brief examines how the Union still has room to grow as a European security provider in the context of an international division of labour for military crisis management.

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    06November 2013
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    CSDP between internal constraints and external challenges

    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
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    Civil wars: a very short introduction

    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?

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  • 05April 2004
    Russia: quo vadis?

    The aim of the seminar was to discuss with Russian experts and EU officials the state of affairs in Russia after the elections, Russian views on European and international developments.

  • 11March 2004
    Facing terrorism: European perspectives and strategies

    The terrorist attack in Madrid on 11 March 2004 was a grim reminder of the global nature and reach of terrorism. Following this event, the EUISS organised a seminar, held in Paris on 7 May 2004, to reflect on the terrorist threat from a European perspective.

  • 05March 2004
    Seminar on information technology security in the 21st century: implications for the EU

    The Institute organised a seminar entitled Information technology security in the 21st century: implications for the EU. The seminar analysed potential threats to IT systems and their implications for critical infrastructures. Participants discussed national and EU level strategies to limit the risks posed to information technology systems.

  • 12January 2004
    Flexibility for ESDP: what is feasible, what acceptable, what desirable?

    On 12 January, the Institute organised a ‘brainstorming’ seminar on flexibility for ESDP that reviewed the latest developments in the Intergovernmental Conference as well as the Council.

  • 20November 2003
    Interparliamentary conference on the global partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction

    The EUISS participated in the organisation of a major inter-parliamentary conference, led and financed by the European Commission and held at the European Parliament. The conference was organised in the spirit of the G8 Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and under the French presidency of the G8.

  • 18September 2003
    European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and the Mediterranean

    The European Union Institute for Security Studies organised, in cooperation with the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a seminar for the PSC, which was held in Brussels on 18 September 2003.

  • 01September 2003
    The enlarged EU and its new neighbours: new security challenges

    With the current 'big bang' enlargement nearing its conclusion, it has become crucial to assess if and to what extent the European Union can and will widen further. The ISS devoted a seminar to this issue, with participants from both current and future member states.

  • 28June 2003
    Transatlantic security cooperation: facing the new challenges

    The Rome conference was the second transatlantic conference organised by the EU Institute for Security Studies in 2003. It focused on the EU and US strategic concepts, EU-NATO cooperation, armaments cooperation, and future trends for transatlantic links.

  • 01April 2003
    The EU and the US: partners in stability?

    The April 2003 Transatlantic Conference, The EU and the US: partners in stability?, was held in Paris. Bringing together officials and academics from both sides of the Atlantic, the conference analysed the state of transatlantic relations after the invasion of Iraq.

  • 07March 2003
    Balkans: the transition from a reduced US commitment

    The 8th meeting of the Institute’s Task Force on South-Eastern Europe was held on 7 March 2003 in Paris. Attended by a number of European and American officials and experts, this session assessed the convergences and divergences between EU and US policy in the Western Balkans today and the next imperatives of the international community’s agenda for the region.

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