Financing European Defence: Time to Call the European Investment Bank? IES Policy Brief Issue 2014/05/July 2014

Summary. Financing research and development programmes have never been more expensive in Europe. Defence budgets are on the wane, international competition is fierce and high-end technologies are increasingly expensive. Europe’s defence-industrial base is under significant strain, and options are needed to fund elements of a sector that is still crucial to Europe’s security and industry. This Policy Brief argues that the European Investment Bank could play a much greater role in Europe’s defence sector. As a public-private institution the Bank could serve as a life-line to defence R&D, dual-use projects and support for SMEs, especially where regional clusters are involved

An Industrious European Council on Defence? Egmont Security Policy Brief No. 53, February 2014

The December 2013 Council meeting set in motion a number of important “roadmaps” for defence-industrial policy in Europe. Now the member states, the European Defence Agency and European Commission need to be aware of the potential roadblocks ahead

The European Investment Bank could help meet some of the challenges facing Europe’s struggling defence industry

European countries face significant challenges in funding defence research and development programmes. Among the most important are declining defence budgets, fierce international competition, and the increasingly expensive nature of high-end technologies. Daniel Fiott argues that the European Investment Bank could play a much greater role in Europe’s defence sector and serve as a life-line to defence research and development, dual-use projects and small and medium sized enterprises

The European Union's Normative Power in a Multipolar World

This paper reappraises Normative Power Europe theory in light of the possible changes that a future multipolar order may bring about. If – and “if” should still be stressed at present –the world is heading towards multipolarity between states such as the US, China, India and Brazil and entities such as the EU what consequences will this have for NPE theory? If the “rules” of this multipolar order are set to be cast in “Westphalian” terms, does this necessarily preclude the EU from participating in such an order? If the EU is not to play by these “rules”, is NPE robust enough to weather the storms that will potentially gather with the ascendency of states with no automatic loyalty to traditional Western economic and political norms? If it is willing to play by these “rules”, will this pressure the EU into a serious rethink not just on its strategy but on the tools it will require to secure its position in a multipolar world

European defence markets and industries : new initiatives, new challenges

O Mercado Europeu da Defesa e as Indústrias: Novas Iniciativas, Novos Desafios O autor parte da afirmação de que, uma excessiva atenção dos países europeus sobre as suas prioridades nacionais no plano da defesa tem causado problemas estruturais no âmbito do mercado de defesa europeu relacionados com questões de concorrência, redundância de meios militares e desnecessários custos adicionais. Examinam-se os esforços recentemente desenvolvidos relativos ao apoio da Base Industrial e Tecnológica da Defesa Europeia e conclui refletindo sobre os desafios que a União Europeia e o mercado de defesa europeu enfrentam. O artigo estrutura-se em três partes. A primeira oferece uma perspetiva sobre as iniciativas recentemente desenvolvidas no domínio da defesa europeia. A segunda examina em que medida aqueles desenvolvimentos se têm traduzido em ações concretas no quadro da defesa europeia. Por último, conclui com algumas considerações estratégicas importantes no quadro do futuro da defesa europeia, nomeadamente o equilíbrio a alcançar entre a vontade dos Estados Membros, os incentivos europeus no plano da defesa e o interesse da indústria europeia em utilizar aqueles incentivos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Arms Trade Treaty and the Control of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies. IES WORKING PAPER 1/2013

This paper seeks to delineate some preliminary factors and working methods that could work in favour of establishing a workable international export control regime for dual-use goods and technologies. Drawing on the work initiated by various United Nations initiatives and the Wassenaar Agreement, but specifically looking at the European Union export regime model, this working paper asks if and how a similar model could be adopted at the international level. Far from suggesting that the EU regime should of could be adopted on a global basis or that the regime is full-proof, the authors acknowledge that EU regulations are seen as among the most stringent of frameworks on dual-use goods and technologies available. Accordingly, this paper asks what elements of the EU’s control regime could be of international benefit after the ATT negotiations and how it could be adopted on a more international basis. Indeed, any future ATT control mechanism for dual-use items will have to draw on existing arms transfers and control regimes. It does this through an analysis of the ATT and the current discourse on dual-use goods and technologies in the negotiations, an stocktaking of the strengths and weaknesses of the EU’s export control regime and by asking what elements of the EU’s regime could be utilised for international control mechanisms after a future ATT is negotiated

The Sahel Crisis: Where do European and African Perspectives Meet? IES Policy Brief Issue 2013/02/March 2013

Summary. The crisis in Mali has brought the Sahel to the centre of international attention. This fragile region not only suffers from longstanding development challenges, but also from an acute security vacuum that has triggered military intervention. Many questions have arisen as a consequence of the crisis. Has the European Union the ability to cope with such a complex and dynamically evolving security environment? How have divergent views on the political roadmap to be adopted, and the lack of resources at the African level, impacted the crisis response? Can the different players involved agree on what are the most pertinent needs and challenges to be addressed? Are they ready for long-term engagement? Can regional organisations effectively collaborate and are they able to successfully integrate different agendas? Following a conference organised by the Institute for European Studies, the Egmont Institute and the Observatoire de l’Afrique on these questions this Policy Brief builds on the findings of the conference and provides an analytical overview of the regional crisis by focusing on the main challenges facing the Sahel, the local and regional dynamics at play and the military and security response

Beyond autonomy: rethinking Europe as a strategic actor

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 the EU. Drawing on contributions to a recent high-level workshop as well as the five briefings contained in this volume, this report seeks to make the case for moving ‘beyond autonomy’ in five key respects - conceptually, thematically, geographically, temporally, and politically. Only by doing this are we able to move the debate on autonomy forward and highlight a number of key debates and issues on which greater attention from policymakers is needed. This report from LSE IDEAS and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation highlights new directions for policy debate and academic research on the concept of strategic autonomy, all of which take us into new domains

An Arab Springboard for EU Foreign Policy? CEPS Paperbacks. January 2012

The EU has not been perceived as reacting very rapidly or effectively to the so-called Arab Spring. Events do appear to validate the idea underpinning the European Security Strategy (ESS) and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP): only where governments guarantee to their citizens security, prosperity, freedom and equality, can peace and stability last – otherwise, people will revolt. But in practice, in its southern neighbourhood the EU has acted in precisely the opposite manner, so the Arab Spring is occurring in spite of rather than thanks to EU policy. The ENP stands at a crossroads therefore: Can a new start be made? Which instruments and, in times of austerity, which means can the EU apply to consolidate democratization? And, finally, can the EU continue to wage an ENP without addressing the hard security dimension, especially as the US seem to be withdrawing from crisis management in the region – or shall it continue to leave that to others

A Cimeira de Vilnius, os novos planos de defesa regionais da NATO e a Ucrânia

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio