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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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    25September 2008
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    L’Union et les armes légères et de petit calibre (ALPC)

    En mettant la priorité sur la prévention, l’Union européenne pourrait maximiser l’usage de ses ressources et le soutien des capacités des gouvernements et des sociétés pour lutter contre le fléau des armes légères, explique Damien Helly, chargé de recherche de l’IESUE sur l’Afrique, la prévention des conflits et de la gestion des crises.

  • 18September 2008
    Strengthening ESDP: the EU's approach to international security

    This seminar was the third in the EUISS’s 2008 series on the implementation of the European Security Strategy. Taking place in Helsinki on 18-18 September, it focused on the EU’s security and defence policy (ESDP).

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    01September 2008
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    EU-UN cooperation in military crisis management: the experience of EUFOR RD Congo in 2006

    Since its first autonomous military operation in the Congo in 2003, the EU has increased its role in military crisis management around the world. This paper looks at the often disappointing results of EU-UN cooperation, using the example of the EU’s later operation in the Congo in 2006...

  • 06June 2008
    The EU and global governance: rules, power and priorities

    The first seminar in the series addressing 'European Interests and Strategic Options' was held in Rome on 5 and 6 June 2008 in cooperation with the Istituto Affari Internazionali and addressed the Union’s goal to develop ‘an international order based on effective multilateralism’.

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    28March 2008
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    Why Kosovo?

    The newest ESDP mission to Kosovo is a display of unity by the European Union, focused on the goal of ensuring stability grounded on the rule of law, including strict respect for minority rights, in the newly-independent state. The EU must achieve its objective while remaining a magnet for Kosovars and at the same time for the Serbs.

  • 14March 2008
    European Security and Defence Policy: Dialogue between the EU and its Mediterranean partners

    This high-level seminar held in Rabat in partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation examined Morocco's relationship with ESDP, including Moroccan involvement in EU and other peacekeeping missions to date, and priorities for cooperation between the EU and its Mediterranean partners.

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    03March 2008
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    Missile Defence in Europe: the political and security dimensions

    The debate over missile defence in Europe is likely to remain on the political agenda for the foreseeable future as discussions evolve on both sides of the Atlantic. This policy brief provides basic background information on missile defence and highlights some of the principal political and security aspects associated with missile defence in Europe.

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    06February 2008
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    Crisis in Chad: implications for the EU

    Just when the EUFOR Chad/CAR operation was about to be deployed, a major crisis has erupted in Chad, with several thousand rebels attacking N’Djamena and threatening President Deby’s regime. The current instability, which has forced many citizens to flee the capital, could also impact on the security of civilian populations in the Eastern region where EUFOR was expected to be deployed.

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    01December 2007
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    CSDP Newsletter No. 5

    The EU-Africa summit in Lisbon on 8-9 December 2007 is due to usher in a new stage in the long-standing relations between the two continents with the adoption of a far-reaching joint strategy and a concrete action plan for its implementation.The EU is already the world’s largest donor in Africa and is the continent’s most important economic and trade partner. It has a particular role to play and a particular responsibility towards the African continent.

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    14October 2007
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    Lessons learned from European defence equipment programmes

    This Occasional Paper explores the issue of European armaments cooperation. Such cooperation between countries has often been difficult. Even so, European governments continue to collaborate on multinational equipment programmes for a number of reasons, and successful multinational programmes have manifold benefits.

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  • 01July 2003
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    European strategy -- first steps

    For the first time in its history the European Union has set about drawing up a common strategic concept. This is a major event. From necessity during the Cold War and then from a lack of consensus, the Union left strategic thinking to the United States and member states. That has changed for two reasons: divided, Europe is powerless, and an enlarged Europe cannot afford to shirk its responsibilities

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    01June 2003
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    EU cooperative threat reduction activities in Russia

    During the last year, the Institute has participated in a consortium of policy research organisations in the United States, Europe, Russia and Asia that aims to strengthen the G-8’s ‘Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction’ initiative. The consortium, led by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, Washington, DC), seeks to support and promote cooperative threat reduction (CTR) activities.

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    01June 2003
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    €uros for ESDP - financing EU operations

    The financing of EU-led crisis management operations is a somewhat neglected yet nevertheless crucial factor affecting the external effectiveness and internal consistency of the Union’s foreign and security policy.

  • 21April 2003
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    Financing ESDP

    Curiously enough, after Iraq, CFSP may be in trouble but ESDP seems to be faring well. The main reason is that there is no longer any significant transatlantic or intra-European divergence over how to deal with Balkans: we all agree on both the principles and the means to be applied to the region, and act accordingly.

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    01April 2003
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    Rebuilding

    Could it be that Europeans, like Americans, believe that from now on ‘the mission determines the coalition, and not the other way round’? That was the new American strategic dogma established as transatlantic doctrine by Donald Rumsfeld after the 11 September attacks.

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    01April 2003
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    The Galileo satellite system and its security implications

    Aiming to reach operational status in 2008, the Galileo satellite system is planned to offer positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services worldwide. It will join the ranks of the current GPS and GLONASS systems, allowing users to pinpoint their exact locations.

  • 28March 2003
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    EU braucht gemeinsame Außenpolitik

    Politisch hat der Irak-Krieg schon heute verheerenden Schaden angerichtet. Vor allem die internationalen Organisationen UN, NATO und EU gehören zu den grossen Verlierern. Besonders prekär erscheint dabei die Lage der Europäischen Union, auf die ausgerechnet in der jetzigen Phase der Zerrissenheit entscheidende Weichenstellungen zukommen: Bis zum Sommer soll der Konvent seine Vorschläge zur künftigen Kompetenzverteilung in der EU unterbreiten.

  • 23March 2003
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    El fin de la ambigüedad

    La larga crisis sobre Irak y la guerra en curso plantean una cuestión central para los europeos: tras una división tempestuosa, ¿volverá la Unión Europea a la calma, o habrá que replantearse todo el proyecto europeo?

  • 07March 2003
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    Das Ende der Vieldeutigkeit

    Es ist eine Binsenweisheit, dass jede Krise auch Chancen in sich birgt. Ob dies im Falle der Irak-Krise auch für die Europäische Union gilt, erscheint allerdings fraglich. Welche Konsequenzen werden die Mitgliedsstaaten aus dem offenen Zerwürfnis der letzten Wochen ziehen?

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    01March 2003
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    Terrorism, proliferation: a European threat assessment

    Security thinking has undergone a significant evolution since the end of the Cold War. The scope of the subject has been extended from the nation-state to societal groups and individuals, and areas covered now include health, the environment, protection against crime and economic disruption, and culture.

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