NATO and EU defence policy
Can Europeans share a common security culture?
27 July 2009
European countries have long declared their ambition to turn the EU into a global player in security – in order to tackle common threats and strengthen their voice on the global stage.
Is Europe doomed to fail as a power?
01 July 2009
How relevant is Europe in the emerging multipolar world? On current trends, the EU seems unlikely to be one of the powers that shapes the new order. Divisions among the member-states and a lack of military muscle have weakened the EU's foreign and defence policy.
The EU and Iran: How to make conditional engagement work
19 December 2008
The IAEA's decision to censure Iran for its nuclear activities but also to give Tehran time to co-operate with inspectors creates a breathing space. The EU should use it to put forward a broader set of policies, fleshing out the political and economic incentives it is offering Tehran, while making...
Willing and able? EU defence in 2020
02 June 2008
Demand for military forces is growing. And the Europeans increasingly turn to the EU when in need of troops for peacekeeping or for delivering humanitarian aid. But will the EU be able to keep up with the demand?
France, NATO and European defence
12 May 2008
France and the UK are close to an agreement that would dramatically improve relations EU and NATO. The two institutions currently make poor partners. Besides Franco-disagreements, Turkish squabbles with the EU also impede EU-NATO co-operation.
The roadmap to better EU-NATO relations
20 December 2007
President Sarkozy has recently said that France may re-integrate into NATO's military command. This abrupt change in French policy opens doors to a much-needed improvement in EU-NATO relations.
Preparing for the multipolar world: European foreign and security policy in 2020
18 December 2007
The world is becoming increasingly multipolar. Will that mean democratic poles lining up against autocracies, in two competing camps? Or will all the leading powers support multilateral institutions?
Europe’s defence and its new security strategy
03 December 2007
The European Union is starting work on a new security strategy. France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants it approved in the second half of 2008, during his country’s EU presidency.
Issue 57 - 2008
30 November 2007
- Politics, Sarkozy and the euro, Philip Whyte
- Europe’s defence and its new security strategy, Tomas Valasek
- The EU must stand firm on Bosnia, Charles Grant, Tomas Valasek
In defence of missile defences?
14 March 2007
For those spoiling for another good transatlantic fight, the headlines from last week’s EU summit must have come as manna from heaven.
Britain and France must pool parts of their defence
01 August 2006
In European Union defence, Britain and France spend the most money (45 per cent of the total), maintain the largest and most effective expeditionary forces, run the biggest defence industries and manage the most important research facilities.
Unblocking EU-NATO co-operation
01 June 2006
There is something rotten in the state of EU-NATO relations. Both organisations would benefit from working closely together on a range of security issues, from counter-terrorism to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Issue 48 - 2006
26 May 2006
- Europe’s new division of labour, Katinka Barysch
- Unblocking EU-NATO co-operation, Daniel Keohane
- Can we live with a nuclear Iran?, Mark Leonard
Russia, the EU and the common neighbourhood
02 September 2005
Throughout the 1990s, Russia tended to underestimate the impact of the EU's forthcoming eastward enlargement. Compared with NATO's expansion into post-Communist territory, EU enlargement looked like the lesser evil.
A European way of war
03 May 2004
The Europeans should develop their own distinctive approach to warfare, argue the authors of this report. Although the Europeans can learn from the Americans on how to prepare for the most demanding sorts of military mission, they should build on their core strengths of peacekeeping, nation-building and counter-insurgency.
The way forward for European defence
01 August 2003
The EU has lost its military virginity. At the request of the UN, the EU sent 1,500 troops to Congo at the beginning of June 2003. The Congo mission is significant for two reasons: it is both the first autonomous EU mission - one that does not rely on NATO's help - and the EU's first military operation outside Europe.
Issue 31 - 2003
25 July 2003
- Tough love for the EU's Eastern neighbours, Heather Grabbe and Henning Tewes
- The way forward for European defence, Daniel Keohane
- Holidays in hell (and Hanover), Alasdair Murray
Europe needs an avant-garde for military capabilities
04 April 2003
Europe has many lessons to learn from the Iraq crisis. Politically, Europe is divided between "old" (those countries that opposed the Iraq war) and "new" (those that supported the war). Europe’s lack of military muscle compared to the Americans was exposed by the short Iraq campaign. The gap in transatlantic...
Issue 29 - 2003
28 March 2003
- More power for the parliament , Pervenche Bérès MEP
- The decline of American power, Charles Grant
- War: Who is to blame, Pierre Hassner
What role for NATO?
01 November 2002
NATO adapted well after the end of the Cold War. An organisation which had been focused on collective defence against the Soviet threat found new things to do: spreading security and stability through NATO enlargement to new members and partners in Central Europe, and applying force to impose – and...