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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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  • 18October 2016
    EUISS at EURONAVAL 2016

    The EUISS team participated in the EURONAVAL 2016 exhibition on 18 October at the Parc des Expositions le Bourget.

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    14October 2016
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    Women in Daesh: jihadist ‘cheerleaders’, active operatives?

    This Brief examines the overlooked role of the women in the organisation, and argues they are every bit as dangerous as their male counterparts. But how should European security forces address this issue?

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    05October 2016
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    App and coming: an ‘Uber migration’?

    Migrant groups and host communities have developed a number of smart technology apps aimed at providing new arrivals with information on housing, education and employment opportunities. This Alert looks at how EU authorities can utilise these new technologies to help migrants, while exploring the associated dilemmas.

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    05October 2016
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    World Wide Webs: who governs the diasporas?

    Migrant groups are influential actors in the international arena. Globally, diaspora communities and governments alike are capitalising on this state of affairs, as demonstrated by the fact that diaspora lobbying is on the rise and governments are seeking to instrumentalise their expatriates. This Alert looks at how the EU finds itself increasingly exposed to foreign states’ interference through its migrant/diaspora communities.

  • 30September 2016
    Recasting EU Civilian Crisis Management

    On 30 September, the EUISS held its second meeting on ‘Recasting EU Civilian Crisis Management’ in Brussels. The project aims to describe and analyse the evolution of EU civilian crisis management (CCM).

  • 22September 2016
    Vulnerabilities and protection of migrants

    On 22 September, the EUISS and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) co-organised a conference in Brussels on the protection of migrants.

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    29July 2016
    With contributions from
    Strategic communications – East and South

    Both Russia and ISIL/Daesh have engaged in aggressive messaging and deceptive media campaigns, albeit with distinct narratives, targets and audiences. This Report analyses the ‘what’ and the ‘how’; and also draws attention to strategic communications efforts undertaken by the EU.

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    29July 2016
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    Military coups: a very short introduction

    This Brief seeks to explain why (and when) coups happen. What conditions are needed to persuade the military to attempt to topple a government? And what elements increase the likelihood of success or failure?

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    13July 2016
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    Shaping (not just surviving) the future of energy

    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
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    Europeans migrating abroad – and back

    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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    20April 2016
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    Countering violent extremism: the Horn of Africa

    Countering violent extremism (CVE) is a fledging approach to combatting radicalisation in the Horn of Africa. But in spite of encouraging progress, CVE remains a tall order as programme implementation continues to be regionally fragmented and largely underfunded.

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    14April 2016
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    Tourism, terrorism and migration

    As certain Western policies backfire, and revisionist economies like Russia and China flex their muscles, this Brief shows how migration, tourism and terrorism are growing in profile, as well as blurring.

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    12April 2016
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    Transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation

    Recent terrorist attacks in Europe have strengthened transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation after trust was shaken by the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden about American surveillance activities. New initiatives seek to address European data protection concerns while deepening collaboration at the EU-level, primarily through Europol.

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    08March 2016
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    The Western Balkans: back in the EU spotlight

    After several years of being largely absent from the agenda, the Western Balkans is back in focus largely due to the refugee crisis. How has this changed the way in which states from the region deal with each other and with the EU?

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    04March 2016
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    Zika: a crisis that bites

    On 1 February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Are the health crisis management structures currently in place, not only in Latin America but also in the EU, ready to face this challenge?

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    04March 2016
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    For EU eyes only? Intelligence and European security

    Intelligence support for the EU’s foreign and security policy has developed from being a small cubicle within Javier Solana’s office into dedicated all-source intelligence units. But what challenges still exist in European intelligence cooperation, and what can be done to bolster it further?

  • 03March 2016
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    New kids on the CFSP block: the JHA agencies

    The EU has embarked on a strategy of upgrading its justice and home affairs agencies in order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its foreign and internal security policies. What steps have been taken? And what more can realistically be done?

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    29January 2016
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    Syrian refugee flows – and ebbs

    One common assumption has been that refugees are leaving camps in Jordan and Lebanon due to difficult conditions and moving on through Turkey into the EU. But because of the northward shift of the Syrian conflict, the reality is somewhat different.

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    29January 2016
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    Refugees versus terrorists

    With the suspicion that two newly-registered refugees carried out the November Paris attacks, this Alert explores – and debunks – fears that refugee flows from the Middle East have become a backchannel for terrorists entering Europe.

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    10December 2015
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    20 years on: rethinking Schengen

    Given the radically altered international environment, how can the EU best adapt its border regime? This Brief shows how it will require an innovative response, rather than replicating at an EU level the classical attributes of a national model.

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