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L’Union européenne et la Boussole stratégique : un moment décisif ?
En pleine guerre de la Russie contre l’Ukraine, l’Union européenne (UE) a publié en mars 2022 sa stratégie de sécurité et de défense tant attendue, appelé Strategic Compass, soit la Boussole stratégique. Ce document est le premier du genre pour l’UE et il peut être assimilé à ce que les États appellent…
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European Maritime Strategies for the Middle East – Struggling for Relevance?
The Middle East is a major area of maritime trade, given the vast oil supplies in the Persian Gulf region and several gas exploitation and exploration projects in the Mediterranean. The development of these prospects and maritime trade, however, are threatened by acts of piracy and terrorist attacks in the…
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The Strategic Compass: A New Era for EU Defence?
In the midst of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the EU published its long-awaited securityand defence strategy called the “Strategic Compass”. This document is the first of its kind for the EU, and it can be likened to an EU “white book” on defence. The Strategic Compass is certainly the document…
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Solid Foundation, Rocky Future? Assessing Transatlantic Defence and Security Ties after NATO’s Madrid Summit
Russia’s war on Ukraine has raised serious questions about European security, but it has also led to much greater transatlantic unity. This Policy Insights paper argues that the war on Ukraine has given rise to a new consensus among large parts of NATO and the EU to reinvest in collective…
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Gearing up for a Competitive Age: The EU as a Maritime Actor
With the Strategic Compass, the European Union has set itself a high level of ambition for its maritime security. The Compass calls for a higher level of investment in high-end naval capabilities and it underlines the importance of ongoing capability projects such as the European Patrol Corvette. The Strategic Compass…
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The Fog of War: Russia’s War on Ukraine, European Defence Spending and Military Capabilities
When war hits, some degree of analytical humility is required. No one knows how – or when – Russia’s war on Ukraine will end and the effects on European security over the medium to longer term (i.e. the next five to ten years) are unknown. Despite the analytical fog that…
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Agenda Exterior: OTAN y autonomía estratégica europea
La vuelta a la defensa colectiva en Europa ha provocado, como era de esperar, una revitalización de la alianza de la OTAN. No solo Finlandia y Suecia están llamando a la puerta de la OTAN, sino que la huella militar de la alianza en el este de Europa ha aumentado…
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European Defense and the Security of Strategic Resources
Even before the 25 March endorsement of the EU Strategic Compass, the question of securing strategic resources was foremost on the minds of policymakers and political leaders. The experience of the lack of medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic had certainly raised questions about security of supply. In particular, it…
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Rising Risks: Protecting Europe with the Strategic Compass
Abstract The Strategic Compass will guide the direction of EU security and defence until 2030, and it does so by providing a single narrative for how, why and where the EU should act to protect its interests and values. While the document is comprehensive in its understanding of the threats…
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La Brújula Estratégica y la autonomía de la UE
En plena guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania, la Unión Europea publicó en marzo su tan esperada estrategia de seguridad y defensa, denominada Brújula Estratégica. El documento es el primero de este tipo para la Unión, y puede asemejarse a lo que los Estados denominan “libro blanco” de la defensa. En…
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To face the Russian Threat, Europeans Need to Spend Together – not Side by Side
If European states are to make good on their promises to protect their interests and their continent, they will need to stand side by side, but invest together, write a group of scientific advisers to the Armament Industry European Research Group (ARES). Euractiv, 2022 Read more
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Digitalization and Hybrid Threats: Assessing the Vulnerabilities for European Security
From artificial intelligence to quantum computing, emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs) may be part of the next revolution in military affairs – but it is not clear how EDTs will shape the future of conflict or strategies aimed at countering hybrid threats. This Hybrid CoE Paper seeks to uncover what…
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EU Civil-Defence Synergies: Understanding the Challenges and Drivers of Change
This paper looks at the European Union’s approach to promoting civil and defence synergies. More specifically, it focuses on the strategies and policies developed by the European Commission to help stimulate the cross-fertilisation of civil and defence research. A core part of the analysis is to show the evolution of…
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The Day After: the EU’s Strategic Compass and the Protection of Europe
The EU has spent the best part of 20 months working on its ‘Strategic Compass’ for security and defence, yet the war in Ukraine and the threat environment around Europe pose serious questions. If the Compass is to move from just another EU document to credible action, EU member states…
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A Clash of Concepts?Making Sense of ‘European Sovereignty’ and ‘Strategic Autonomy’
Strategic autonomy has become the buzzword of the European policy scene in recent years, with a slew of reports and policy proposals dedicated to the subject, and high-level support among European leaders. But big questions remain about what the concept actually means and what its implications are for Europe and…
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The Failure of the EU’s Mediterranean Policies
Abstract ‘Thank you. This is Miranda Marluppi from Euro Diretta. At the start of the decade the Commission used its “EU Beach Clean-Up” initiative to sell us idyllic pictures of the Med- iterranean Sea, but today — in 2027 — the “Med is Dead”. What is the EU doing to save…
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Der Weg zu einem souveränen Europa
Vor mehr als vier Jahren hielt der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron an der Pariser Sorbonne eine Rede mit dem Titel „Initiative für Europa“. Sie führte das Konzept der europäischen Souveränität ein – damals noch ein kühner Vorschlag, heute eine weit verbreitete Vorstellung. 2020 nannte EU-Ratspräsident Charles Michel das Erreichen echter…
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Strategic Compass: New Bearings for EU Security and Defence?
Abstract Over the past twenty years the European Union has enhanced its role as a security and defence actor. However, in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, the Union faces new threats and security challenges and this calls for a unified, robust and far-reaching approach from the bloc and its Member…
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Promoting Technological Sovereignty and Innovation: Emerging and Disruptive Technologies
Emerging and disruptive technologies (EDT) transcend the four-basket logic of the EU Strategic Compass as they touch on aspects of all issue areas. To break down this complex topic, the workshop was based on two input papers that focused on aspects of sovereignty and innovation. While the discussion cannot and…
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Towards a Strategic Compass for the EU
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…
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Yearbook of European Security, 2021
Abstract The 2021 Yearbook of European Security provides an overview of events in 2020 that were significant for European security and it charts major developments in the EU’s external action and security and defence policy. The 2021 Yearbook of European Security contains region- and issue-specific sections, timelines of key events,…
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What Scope for EU-US Defence Industrial Cooperation in the 2020s?
The election of Joseph Biden as President of the United States has led to talk of a reset in the transatlantic relationship. This is the dawn of a new era where the US are more involved in NATO, the Europeans are more involved in their security with projects such as…
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Knowledge is Power? Technology and Innovation in the Indo-Pacific
Abstract Ever since the 1970s, the Indo-Pacific region has steadily become home to increasing levels of technological output, innovation, and people. During this period China’s economic opening, the United States’ technological dominance, and the broader processes of generalised economic globalisation have contributed to the formation of high-tech global value chains.…
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European Defence and the Demands of Strategic Autonomy
Fundamental changes in the international system are calling into question the EU’s understanding of itself as a security and defence actor. Challenges such as the rise of China, Russia’s hybrid tactics, questions about the long-term durability of the transatlantic relationship, the risk that terrorist groups may seek to fill strategic…
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The EU’s Presence and Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
Throughout 2021, it was clear to all external actors that the EU was set to produce a strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. After initial Council of the EU Conclusions on 19 April 2021 that set out the main parameters for EU engagement, the European Commission and High Representative set about refining…
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Naval Gazing: The Strategic Compass and the EU’s Maritime Presence
Abstract The EU and its member states will find it increasingly difficult to sustain the rules-based order and the Union’s own economic prosperity without a sizeable and consist- ent investment in maritime power. The politics of the EU’s approach to maritime security is conditioned by questions of geographical priorities and…
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European Sovereignty: Strategy and Interdependence
Abstract The notion of European ‘strategic sovereignty’ is increasingly important to debates about the European Union. Given rapidly shifting global geopolitical and technology trends, and the seeming fragmentation of the multilateral order, the EU is being forced to confront its own position in international affairs. A number of concepts have…
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Securing the Heavens: How can Space Support the EU’s Strategic Compass?
Abstract Despite political and industrial divergences between EU member states, space will play an indispensable role in the Strategic Compass. Space is a strategic enabler that can enrich the EU’s approach to crisis management, resilience, capabilities and partnerships, and the Compass is an opportunity to upgrade the status of space…
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Le canal et l’Union : comment la nouvelle crise de Suez déstabilise la géopolitique de l’espace maritime européen
Depuis quelques jours, un porte-conteneurs géant embourbé dans les sables du canal de Suez bloque 12 % du commerce mondial. Que révèle l’affaire Ever Given de l’espace maritime européen ? Dans cette étude, Daniel Fiott montre qu’il ne faut pas négliger la dimension géostratégique de cet événement. Le Grand Continent, 2021 Read…
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The EU’s Strategic Compass for Security and Defence: What Type of Ambition is the Needle Pointing to?
Abstract For the past twenty years, the EU has deployed numerous missions and operations to different parts of the world and it has agreed on a suite of new initiatives to boost capability development, synchronise defence investment plans and enhance operational capacity. However, there is still a fundamental question facing…
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Daniel Fiott 