The European Union has made tangible steps forward in security and defence in recent years. he EU Global Strategy put in place a new strategic rationale for the EU and it stressed the importance for member states to invest in security and defence in order to better respond to a more hostile world. All around Europe are crises. Russia’s actions in Eastern Europe, Turkey’s destabilising efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Syria and Libya conflicts, the insecurity in the Sahel, and violent piracy in the Gulf of Guinea are all worrying developments. In particular, the Mediterranean is the location for growing geopolitical concerns. Clearly, the EU is not living in the “secure, prosperous and free” world so confidently proclaimed in the 2003 European Security Strategy.
A contribution to SHADE MED 2021, 2021
Daniel Fiott 