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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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    16April 2014
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    One size to fit all? Setting standards for European defence

    At present, the European defence market is fragmented and characterised by a plethora of national standards. But with the need for defence standardisation becoming increasingly critical in an era marked by declining defence expenditure, what steps can be taken to ensure success?

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    09April 2014
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    Defence matters – EU key documents 2013

    An essential point of reference for all those who work in the field of CSDP, this compendium collects the official documents generated by all EU institutional actors in preparation of the ‘defence summit’ of 19/20 December 2013 and the Conclusions adopted by the EU heads of state and government at the end of the process.

  • 08April 2014
    Quelle contribution du militaire à l’approche globale de l’action extérieure de l’UE ?

    On 8 April 2014, the EUISS co-hosted the second seminar of a series of events on the role of the military in CSDP with the French MOD think tank, l'Institut de Recherche stratégique de l’Ecole militaire (IRSEM).

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    21March 2014
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    No TTIP-ing point for European defence?

    Although the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not directly cover to the defence sector, dual-use goods and technologies are increasingly blurring the lines between defence and civilian commercial realms. What impact will the TTIP have on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that operate in the European defence sector, and what of the future of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base?

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    07March 2014
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    CSDP: getting third states on board

    Presented in the context of a broader CFSP agenda, this Brief provides an overview of the valuable contributions and political support by partner countries to CSDP missions to date. How can this process now be best employed to bolster the overall legitimacy of the EU’s international security role?

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    07March 2014
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    Defence budgets: Europe's Maginot moment?

    As EU member states try to juggle decreasing budgets and increasing costs in the face of an ever more unstable neighbourhood, is Europe trying to maintain its defences by cutting everything that makes them viable? This Brief suggests a few answers by looking at some of the latest data available on defence.

  • 06March 2014
    Managing crisis, building peace: EU and US comprehensive approaches

    On 6 March 2014, the EUISS, in cooperation with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, organised a seminar in Washington, D.C. to discuss the place of peace-building in respective EU and US institutional structures and broader strategic considerations.

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    24January 2014
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    EUFOR RCA Bangui: 'defence matters'

    With the decision to launch EUFOR RCA Bangui, EU member states appear to be displaying a willingness to inject new momentum into crisis management in sub-Saharan Africa. But how likely is it that the situation in the CAR will be sufficiently stable in six months to allow the EU to declare victory and hand over to AU forces or the UN?

  • 15January 2014
    What contribution of the military to the EU’s Comprehensive Approach to external action?

    On 15 January, 2014, the EUISS hosted the first seminar of a series of events co-organised with the French MOD think tank, l'Institut de Recherche stratégique de l’Ecole militaire (IRSEM).

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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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    11August 2009
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    ESDP Newsletter No. 8

    In the last year, the EU has been conducting two major military operations in and around Africa as well as continuing its police mission in Afghanistan. This Summer issue looks at the EU's engagement in these regions. It also gives a bird's eye view of an ESDP operation as seen from the EU Satellite Centre and finally Karl von Wogau, Chairman of the European Parliament Sub-Committee for Security and Defence, takes stock of the development of ESDP.

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    15July 2009
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    EU security and defence: core documents 2008

    This chronological compilation brings together official documents on European security and defence, including statements, decisions and other material from the relevant EU structures. It is a valuable reference tool for all those interested in the EU’s common foreign and security policy, allowing for quick identification of the key issues on the agenda for the year 2008.

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    01April 2009
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    Europe's NATO

    This issue focuses on NATO, ahead of the summit of heads of state and government on 3-4 April. Álvaro de Vasconcelos and Daniel Hamilton give two perspectives. Also in this issue, Walter Posch writes about Iran's political landscape ahead of the country's June presidential election.

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    01April 2009
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    Security Sector Reform in Afghanistan: the EU’s contribution

    The EU engages in aspects of security sector reform through EUPOL Afghanistan, the police mission launched in 2007, and through the European Commission’s contributions to justice reform in the country. Based on an analysis of past efforts at police reform by the EU and other European and international actors, this paper identifies a set of internal and external coordination challenges that hamper mission success.

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    16March 2009
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    From Suez to Shanghai: the European Union and Eurasian maritime security

    This paper looks at the emerging geopolitical situation in the Eurasian coastal zone, concentrating on the geostrategic activities of China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. This zone, it argues, is both critically important for the EU in terms of shipping for manufactured goods and energy supplies, and likely to experience great power competition and general disorder over the coming decades.

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    01February 2009
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    The European Security Strategy 2003-2008: building on common interests
    With contributions from

    This report follows on from the series of seminars organised in 2008 by the EUISS on the European Security Strategy. It contributes to the debate on policy options generated by the December 2008 European Council, which put forward guidelines for the implementation of the Strategy in the coming years, and looks at how to increase the consistency and coherence of EU external action.

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    01January 2009
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    CSDP Newsletter No.7

    EULEX Kosovo is finally up and running after a long planning phase. It began operations on 9 December 2008 and has been breaking new ground for the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) as the EU's largest civilian mission.

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    31December 2008
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    The EU, NATO and European Defence: a slow train coming

    This paper examines the proposals on European defence under discussion during the 2008 French EU Presidency. While Americans and Europeans alike support stronger EU-NATO cooperation, the output has so far been unsatisfactory. The paper examines initiatives for a stronger, more unitary European security structure.

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    19November 2008
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    Towards a European Defence Market
    With contributions from

    EU governments are gradually coming around to the idea that they need to open up their defence markets. The European Commission is currently proposing new procurement and trade directives aimed at streamlining defence market legislation. The proposed directives would open up the defence market, improve European cooperation on armaments and lead to a more competitive European defence industry.

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    04November 2008
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    Avoiding confrontational bipolarity

    This issue of the EUISS newsletter looks at the need to avoid confrontational bipolarity in the wake Georgia conflict, assesses prospects for a regional solution to the Afghanistan conflict, and examines ESDP ten years after the St Malo Anglo-French summit. It also gives a round up of the Institute’s recent seminar series on the European Security Strategy, as well as the latest publications and press clippings.

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