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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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  • 30September 2014
    Women & war: women & armed conflicts and the issue of sexual violence

    This Colloquium, coorganised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the EUISS on 30 September in Brussels, focused on the theme of women and war and the challenges for the EU, humanitarian organisations and other concerned actors in this space.

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    19September 2014
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    The Ebola outbreak: local and global containment

    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
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    Mare Europaeum? Tackling Mediterranean migration

    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
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    The Arab War(s) on Terror

    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
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    Energising TTIP: diversification through trade?

    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
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    Schengen’s maritime border: another annus horribilis in the Med?

    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?

  • 23May 2014
    Crisis management 2014: the EU record

    On 23 May, the EU Institute for Security Studies hosted a double event in Brussels ‘Crisis management 2014: the EU record’ in order to present both its ‘Yearbook of European Security: YES 2014’ and the EUISS/EEAS book ‘Crisis Rooms: towards a global network?’

  • 10April 2014
    Achieving EU energy security in light of the new 2030 climate/energy goals

    The EUISS hosted a seminar on European energy security on Thursday 10 April in Brussels in order to facilitate a free exchange of ideas on the energy security dimension of EU energy policy and introduce the latest EUISS energy-related report.

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    28March 2014
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    China’s energy demands: are they reshaping the world?

    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
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    Handle with care: crowd-sourcing and non-proliferation

    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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    27March 2013
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    The future of the CWC in the post-destruction phase
    With contributions from

    Since the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997, much progress has been made in destroying existing stockpiles of chemical weapons. However, the CWC is faced with new threats and challenges due to advances in science and technology and the changing international security, political and economic environment. On the eve of the Third Review Conference of the treaty, this report examines some of the most pressing challenges facing the CWC over the next decade.

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    26March 2013
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    Chemical weapon use in Syria?

    On 19 March 2013 a serious allegation was made concerning the use of chemical weapons near Aleppo. In this context, how could the EU play a role that would assist not only the potential victims of chemical attacks but also the process of eliminating all non-conventional weapons in the Middle East?

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    18February 2013
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    The shale gas ‘revolution’: challenges and implications for the EU

    The recent boom in ‘unconventional’ oil and gas in the United States has raised many questions regarding the impact it will have on global energy markets, the security of energy supplies, the fight against climate change and even the global balance of power. Is it now time for Europe to develop its own resources?

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    18February 2013
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    Water as a stress factor in ­sub-Saharan Africa

    Despite Africa’s rainy equatorial zone, long rivers, great lakes and vast shores, water is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity. Convincing policy responses are required in order to alleviate growing pressure on water resources that could eventually lead to domestic unrest, exacerbate existing inter-state tensions and even constitute a source of armed conflict.

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    18December 2012
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    UNSCR 1540 and the EU: reinforcing national responsibilities

    For nearly a decade now, the EU has provided decisive support to international efforts to combat WMD proliferation. This policy brief illustrates the added value of EU support to existing international instruments dealing with non-proliferation, while recommending concrete steps to improve EU efforts to foster greater international cooperation.

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    15June 2012
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    The EU's and China's institutional diplomacy in the field of climate change

    Considering its linkages with various areas such as energy security, economic growth and diplomacy, climate change is a major ‘game-changer’ in international relations. The development of the climate change regime presents the EU with both an opportunity and a threat, in as much as it may either accelerate Europe’s decline as a foreign policy actor or, on the contrary, reinvigorate its diplomatic ambitions.

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    20December 2010
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    A new farewell to arms: viewing disarmament in a new security environment

    Advocates of disarmament have long maintained that non-conventional weapons are so destabilising to international peace and security that they should be eliminated altogether. This policy brief provides an overview of the disarmament question and examines how it is entering a new phase in a radical new context of globalisation and rapid technology diffusion.

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    19April 2010
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    Nuclear weapons after the 2010 NPT Review Conference

    The Non-Proliferation Treaty is a central pillar in global efforts to prevent a destabilising armament competition and, worse still, nuclear war. Chaillot Paper No. 120 analyses the issues affecting the NPT in the lead-up to the 2010 Review Conference that will take place amid rising proliferation concerns and a renewed focus on disarmament.

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    09April 2010
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    A Good START

    The New START, a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty, aims to significantly reduce the weapons stockpiles of both the US and Russia. While it may be seen as a positive step towards disarmament and for US-Russia relations, getting it past the US Senate is Obama’s next big challenge, writes Jean Pascal Zanders.

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    04November 2009
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    The Obama Moment

    'The Obama Moment' provides an authoritative analysis of the most topical global questions of our time: multilateralism, the economy, disarmament and climate change. Will the election of Obama facilitate enhanced transatlantic co-operation in dealing with these and other challenges?

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