Recent
Publications
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In 2014, the US Department of Defense announced that it would embark on a new defence innovation initiative termed the ‘Third Offset Strategy’. This Obama-era strategy was conceived to overcome the perceived military-technological rise of states such as China, Russia,… more ›
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The author discusses how the excessive focus of European countries on national priorities have been leading to a number of structural problems, in the European defence market, related to international competition, military redundancies and unnecessary costs. The article reflects on… more ›
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Abstract The EUISS Yearbook of European Security (YES) 2018 is the Institute’s annual publication compiling key information and data related to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in 2017. YES 2018… more ›
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Enthusiasts of strategic studies will be familiar with the tripartite, quasi-mathematical equation of ends, ways and means. Over a period of 18 months or so – beginning in June 2016 with the publication of the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) and… more ›
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Humanitarian diplomacy has emerged as a concept to promote and dissuade certain types of humanitarian action. The concept took hold mainly in the post-Second World War era and the advent of global humanitarianism. It is a distinct form of diplomacy.… more ›
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One of the first initiatives that emerged from the EU Global Strategy was the formation of a single military planning and conduct capability for the strategic command of some of the EU’s military CSDP operations. The logic is that having… more ›
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The idea that the transportation of military personnel and equipment within Europe is still subject to physical, legal and regulatory barriers may seem odd, especially given the freedom of movement experienced under the Schengen Agreement and the nature of collective… more ›
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The aim of this chapter is to analyze how the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stimulate defense research and development (R&D) cooperation among their respective members. The chapter also seeks to understand how, if at… more ›
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Abstract Permanent Structured Cooperation (PeSCo), the so-called ‘sleeping beauty’ of EU defence, is awake. Still barely predictable only a year ago, PeSCo is an ambitious, binding and inclusive legal framework aimed at incentivising defence cooperation among member states. PeSCo is… more ›
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While the issue of cyber security is pervasive, cyberdefence is not. Not only are documents such as the EU Global Strategy replete with references to the challenges emanating from cyber, but EU member states and institutions are taking important steps (such as greater… more ›
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European Union member states have spent decades working to identify and fill military capability gaps through initiatives such as the Headline Goals and the Capability Development Plan (CDP). In the European Defence Agency (EDA), participating member states are accustomed to… more ›
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The symbolism of the Capitoline Hill, where the Treaty of Rome was signed over sixty years ago, cannot have been lost on the original signatories of the treaty. As the former location of temples to the gods Saturn and his… more ›
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The global defense industry is shifting toward a new paradigm in which an emphasis on technology-driven capability development is being undermined by disruptive innovations emanating from the commercial sector. This evolution is likely to result in important effects on the… more ›
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In the summer of 2020, Russian forces entered Dnipropetrovsk International Airport (Ukraine’s fourth largest city), blockaded the M34 motorway that links Dnipropetro- vsk to Kiev and seized railway lines in the region. At the same time, Russia deployed the Admiral Grigorovich, Ladnyy and Smetlivyy frigates… more ›
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The European Union (EU) has never directly funded defence research or military capability development before; so the fact that EU financial support for both defence research and joint capability development is now possible following the release of the European Defence… more ›
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Abstract The following pages bring together data on defence spending from three different sources: the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Data for 2016 from the EDA were not… more ›
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In the 14 November 2016 Council conclusions, member states recognised that there was a need to ‘deepen defence cooperation and ensure more optimal use, including coherence, of defence spending plans’. Although the European Defence Agency (EDA) has been working towards… more ›
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The 2009 adoption of the EU directive on intra-Community transfers of defence equipment (‘ICT directive’) (2009/43/EC) aims to harmonize defence transfer licencing in the EU. The directive is part of a ‘defence package’ – along with a directive on defence… more ›
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After several months of intense work, the European Union ended 2016 having agreed to a number of fresh initiatives designed to articulate (and act on) a new level of ambition for security and defence. Under the overall direction laid down… more ›
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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… more ›
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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… more ›
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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… more ›
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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… more ›
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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… more ›
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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… more ›
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The EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS) is quite candid about the challenges facing European defence and it understandably calls for defence cooperation to become the norm rather than the exception. The new strategy provides Europe with… more ›
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Covering the main political organs of the UN, important regional and security organizations, international judicial institutions and the regional human rights protection systems, An Institutional Approach to the Responsibility to Protect examines the roles and responsibilities of the international community… more ›
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The United States is launching another defence innovation initiative to offset the growing military-technological might of countries such as China, Russia and Iran. However, by utilising emerging technologies from the commercial sector to achieve greater military power the US may… more ›
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The Preparatory Action for Common Security and Defence Policy‐related research is currently under preparation, and it will serve as a test‐bed to prove the relevance of defence‐related research at the European Union‐level. The Preparatory Action could potentially see between €75… more ›
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A quietly important element of NATO’s Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the 2014 Wales Summit, is the Alliance’s need ‘to reinforce its eastern Allies through preparation of national infrastructure, such as airfields and ports’. Put simply, without the necessary… more ›
Daniel Fiott 