The EU’s recent adoption of the “Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel” (March 2011) and of the “EU Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa” (November 2011) under the new institutional setup of the European External Action Service (EEAS) may be regarded as an indicator of a new “way to do things” in terms of European foreign, security and defence policy. This article focuses on the characteristics of the Sahel Strategy, and in particular, on the security chapter of the comprehensive strategy for the Sahel, in order to shed light on the factors that determine this new trend. For that purpose, a comparison is drawn between, this Strategy and the Strategy for the Horn of Africa, and the possibility of widening the Operations Centre’s geographical scope to the Sahel is considered.  

If Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been a feature throughout much of the history of aviation, it is not until recently that they gained increased attention. Much of the drone-related publicity has reached the wider public due to their controversial use by some states for the targeting and killing of suspected terrorists in combat and non-combat zones alike. Yet, UAVs cannot be reduced to the sole definition of weapon-delivery systems. The rather vague term of UAV is generic, and encompasses a spectrum of distinct instruments and devices respectively covering various roles and functions. This European Security Review will attempt to clarify semantic confusions that have often been misleading debates and opinions on UAVs. It will assess their current state of play in the European Union and EU industry, as well as their potential future within a wider European strategy.

Formally introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in January 2009, the mutual assistance and solidarity clauses now enshrined as Article 42(7) of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), have, until now, only received limited attention from national governments, EU policymakers and analysts. As these clauses are currently under discussion at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence, this is a timely moment to provide some clarifications and insight on clauses that arguably challenge Member States’ sovereignty claims and that could potentially constitute a basis for the further development of the Union’s defence cooperation. The present Security Review focuses on the origins, scope, interpretation and technical aspects of the mutual assistance and solidarity clauses and argues that EU and national policymakers should promptly establish operational mechanisms that would give credibility to these clauses, before their symbolic dimension and concrete potential lose their appeal. 

Climate change has until now only received limited attention from national governments, EU policymakers and analysts in the framework of international security. A European Parliament report entitled “The Role of the CSDP in case of climate driven crises and natural disasters” was adopted on 23 October 2012. This is a timely moment to provide some clarification and insight on how climate change can impact international security and to describe the position of the international community, especially the European Union (EU).The present Security Review focuses on the definition of a new challenge for international and regional cooperation, military and civilian, in order to target the main problems and thus, to find adequate political, strategic and institutional responses. The impact of climate change is not a problem the international community has to tackle in the future but today.

On 1 July 2012, Cyprus took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Denmark. It is the first time that the presidency shifts to the capital the furthest located from Brussels. In this context, significant opportunities and challenges will arise for Cyprus, a “new member” of the Union. This European Security Review focuses on the potential implications of the first-ever Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council for the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Analysing the relationship that has developed between Cyprus and CSDP over the past decade, this paper offers an overview of the current state of affairs, challenges and stalemates. With a particular focus on the Cyprus-Turkey and Cyprus-NATO relations, it argues that despite its best efforts, Cyprus will most probably not manage to achieve much more than exercising a “reliable” and “creative” Presidency. However, it will hopefully cast renewed light and interest on the essential importance of the region for Europe’s security.

This European Security Review aims at defining War 2.0 as a new domain of conflict. “Cyber security” or “cyber war” are commonly used terms which are difficult to visualise. War 2.0 can be defined as modern, cyber or even conventional warfare.  Whatever the definition, the rules on how to fight a war have changed, and the cost is affecting the budget of each state. Cooperation among states has to be developed within the E.U. and with other states or other regional organisations such as NATO. This paper argues that the classical definition of war is outdated and that it is therefore time to build an adequate policy, as well as a legal framework.

With the 50^th Anniversary of the Elysee Treaty next January, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his German counterpart Thomas De Maziere met in Berlin last June to discuss ways to collaborate in defence. This review will cover the current Franco-German defence alliance and how the European Défense Agency’s (EDA) ‘Pooling & Sharing’ programme can help it in the future by examining past achievements and future plans the alliance has.

This European Security Review aims at assessing the successes and shortcomings of one of the most politically successful achievements of the EU in terms of security and defence, which, paradoxically, has shined in its incapacity and unwillingness to deploy timely rapid response forces when opportunities have arisen. The paper focuses on the problems that the European Union’s Battlegroups (EU BGs) face in terms of decision-making and command fragmentation, lack of capabilities and political will, and lack of leadership. These practical, operational and political challenges need to be tackled in the immediate future if EU BGs are to overcome the threat of becoming irrelevant. The current context of economic and financial crisis could potentially, in a logic of cost-reduction, bring some changes necessary for the BGs. BGs need to overcome the challenges of fragmentation and interoperability and need to appear as a single homogeneous capable and efficient force if they are to play a significant role for European defence. Only then are they likely to execute challenging missions and achieve their second goal of becoming a European rapid reaction force within the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) toolkit. 

This review examines the humanitarian crisis in Chad and its evolution in recent years. From 2008 to 2010 the EU and the UN collaborated in a multi-dimensional, large-scale mission in Chad and in the Central African Republic. Four years on from the mission’s launch, this review will examine the effect of UN/EU involvement in Chad, and highlight a need for stronger implementation of a long-term comprehensive strategy in Chad.

In the summer of 2010, a new division was created within the NATO International Staff in order to tackle what the organisation had recently defined as “Emerging Security Challenges” (ESCs): terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber attacks, piracy, and energy and environmental security. This European Security Review analyses the European Union’s response to these new types of threats to security and seeks possible ways to increase cooperation between NATO and the EU. The main outcomes of the research relate to the shortcomings of EU responses to ESCs in terms of institutional complexity, insufficient coordination between different actors and policies, lack of political leadership at the EU level, and fragmented and limited defence budgets. The economic and financial crisis that the EU currently faces— exerting fierce pressure on Member States and their budgets—provides new momentum for greater rationalisation and integration of defence spending within the EU. In this context, the NATO Chicago Summit of the 20-21 May 2012, constitutes a good platform from which the EU-NATO partnership can be re-evaluated and strengthened by clearly framing the ESCs and defining the organisations’ respective roles in dealing with them.

This review outlines the EU’s stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It will demonstrate that despite the will of the EU to help end the conflict, further progress is needed. The review further examines the two CSDP missions currently deployed in the Palestinian Territories, aiming to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

ISIS’ Hot-spot Forecast for the EU’s CSDP in 2011

Shadow NATO Summit; EU's Public Diplomacy in CSDP; EP udpate DROI 8 Nov.; Multipart Final Roundtable; EU SSR Guinea-Bissau; CSDP and EU mission updates

 EU crisis management; NATO emerging threats; CSDP and EU missions

NPT Review Conference; Civilian Contributions to Operations; Peace Report 2010; CSDP and EU mission updates

 EEAS; Spanish Presidency; Women in the Peace Process; NATO-EU Assets; CSDP and EU Missions Update

Disarmament, the 2010 NPT Review Conference, NATO and Arms Control, NATO-EU Cooperation; CSDP and EU Missions Update

Looking at: enacting the Lisbon Treaty for CSDP,setting up the EEAS, ESDP and the Swedish EU Presidency,CSDP logistics and NAMSA,EU and early warning,CSDP and EU mission updates.

Looking at: missile defence, Gender and SSR, US and nuclear policy, military capabilities, briefing notes on Palestine and SIPRI Yearbook Launch and ESDP and EU mission update

Looking at: SALW, WMD, Peace Report, Czech Presidency, ESDP update

Looking at: NATO and nuclear arms; civ-mil convergence; children´s security; control of SALW; NATO Shadow Summit; gender and SSR training; INEF Peace book launch; SIPRI book on dual-use goods; EP updates and ESDP and EU mission update

Looking at: Civilian capabilities in ESDP; Kosovo, Afghanistan, Brazil and ESDP and EU mission update

Looking at: : ESS review; Peace operations; NATO Watch; Fragile states; European Civil Protection Force; EP updates December 2008; EUFOR Chad/CAR; EUNAVFOR Somalia and ESDP and EU mission update.

Looking at: new threats; Guinea-Bissau; France and nuclear; ESDP in DRC and Kosovo; EUPM and EP updates September and October 2008. Also events in December: launch of book on peace operations and PSE conference on peace and disarmament. 

Looking at: changing perceptions on security; the French White Paper on Defence; an EU caucus in NATO; civilian exemptions from the Nuclear Suppliers Group; climate change and security and EP updates July 2008. Also events in October on: control of SALW; and 1325/1820 in ESDP missions.

Looking at: Battle Groups; Responsibility to Protect; EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports; 5 years of ESDP in Action; ESDP Mission Update (including tables and charts); European Parliamentary Update June 2008; R2P and POC event and Council ESDP Handbook Launch.

Looking at: Kosovo SSR implementation; EUSSR in Guinea-Bissau; EU surveying the EU - The Future of Europe; European Parliamentary Update March 2008; European Parliamentary Update May 2008; ISIS-DCAF joint report; Launch of the gender and SSR toolkit

Looking at: EUFOR Tchad/RCA mission; The Lisbon Treaty on the CFSP and ESDP; European security in 2020; European Parliamentary Update January 2008; European Parliamentary Update December 2007.

Looking at: Studies for the European Parliament; Liberal Interventionism - time to get real; Parliamentary Update October 2007; Parliamentary Update November 2007; ESDP and EU Mission Update (including tables and charts).

Looking at: Revising the European Security Strategy - Building a secure Europe in a better world; Sarkozy's Brave New World - France's foreing security and defense policy; Engaging Fragile Situations: Sudan; Chad: civilan-military and humanitarian intervention;European Parliamentary Updates July and September 2007

Looking at: European Security Roundup ( The New Treaty, Merkel, Sarkozy and Brown; UK on Nuclear Weapons; Cluster Bombs); The importance of Gender in ESDP; The Prum Process: playing or abusing the system?; Parliamentary Update June 2007.

Looking at: Defending Europe from Missile Attack; Waiting in the Wings - The civilian ESDP mission in Kosovo; EUPOL Afghanistan - an opportunity for whom?; Parliamentary Update March; Parliamentary Update May.

Looking at: Decision time for Iran; The role of the German Presidency in promoting ESDP; Creating civil society dialogue in Somalia; EUFOR RD Congo: a preliminary assessment; Parliamentary Update January.

Looking at: Why Europe should care about Britain's Trident; Stopping North Korea's nuclear programme: an active role for the EU; EU Battle Groups 2007: where next?; Security Sector Reform: from Concept to Practice; Aceh Peace Process - Update

Looking at: UN Peacekeeping in Lebanon: Europe's contribution; Tackling the new terrorism in the EU; Strengthening European support for an Arms Trade Treaty; Gender and Security; Update on Iran nuclear crisis. 

Looking at: The EU's changing role in Kosovo; A New EU Mission to Kosovo : Political Context; Community safety in Kosovo : Lessons learned; Future of ESDP: Lessons from Bosnia.

Looking at: Nuclear Crisis in Iran; Building Security in the Palestinian Territories; Developing an EU strategy for Security Sector Reform; Update: Aceh Monitoring Mission.

Looking at: WMD: Matching Budgets to Threats; Aceh Monitoring Mission: a new challenge for ESDP; The EU's Africa Strategy: from Words to Action; Re-thinking NATO's engagement in Afghanistan; Solana's annual speech on CFSP: the Agenda for 2006.