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Understanding EU Foreign Policy: Theory
The institutional context in which the European Union conducts its external action – starting with the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) – is complex, sometimes unclear, and highly fragmented. Moreover, the large number of players and formats for shaping, making and implementing decisions hardly facilitates a… Read more
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The EU, NATO and the European Defence Market: Do Institutional Responses to Defence Globalisation Matter?
The European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) are both institutions through which European states can engage in European defence–industrial cooperation. Each organisation embodies a unique set of institutional tools through which to manage issues such as the high and rising costs of defence procurement, technological innovation, defence R&D, standardisation, multinational capability programmes… Read more
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EU Defence Research in Development
On the 14 November 2016 EU member states welcomed the presentation of the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence (SDIP) by the High Representative/Vice-President. The plan serves as a follow-up to the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) with a specific focus on security and defence, but, more than this, the SDIP presents ideas that are directed… Read more
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Making Europe and Europeans Safer
One of the criticisms associated with plans for closer European defence cooperation is that there are no new ideas around. The ‘EU Battlegroups’, ‘Permanent Structured Cooperation’, even the idea for an ‘EU Operational Headquarters’ or a ‘Defence Semester’ are seen as old and sometimes unwieldly initiatives, reminiscent of debates that have hardly made any progress.… Read more
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Defence, Industry and Strategy
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, if ratified by all parties, is likely to have ramifications for the global defence market and the US’ economic and political strategy towards the Asia-Pacific region. Although the TPP excludes a number of defence-related issues such as defence procurement, the TPP’s provisions on technology transfers and intellectual property rights could bolster the… Read more
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After the EU Global Strategy: Security and Defence – Consulting the Experts
Following the publication of the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS) in June, attention has now turned to how the strategy can concretely be implemented. A Security and Defence Implementation Plan (SDIP) will focus on the EU’s ability – primarily through the CSDP – to respond to external conflicts and crises, build… Read more