Core Groups: The way to real European defence. Egmont Security Policy Brief No. 81 February 2017

Continuing the series of contributions from the speakers at the 6-7 February Egmont – Raytheon event on « The European Defence of Europe », Egmont publishes a policy brief by our Clingendael colleague Dick Zandee. European countries continue to have different political views on the use of military force. Their armed forces also show a wide variety in terms of capabilities for operations low to high in the spectrum. Thus, European strategic autonomy in deploying armed forces for military operations requires a new approach. Rather than pursuing the impossible – acting at 28 – European countries should form core groups of partners with comparable intent, willingness and capabilities. France and the UK can provide the core for a European intervention force while Germany and Poland could constitute the core of a heavy land force formation. All core groups should support each other in a network, to be developed under the overarching umbrella’s of the EU and NATO

Europe's security upside down

A existência de uma separação entre segurança externa e interna cessou de existir. Os efeitos de propagação de conflitos e da instabilidade em áreas como o Sahel e o Médio Oriente são sentidos na Europa. No presente e no futuro o crime organizado, o terrorismo, a emigração ilegal e os ciberataques constituem uma preocupação de segurança, enquanto as ameaças militares - exceto no que respeita ao emprego de mísseis – desapareceram. Contudo, não existe uma resposta integrada a estes problemas de segurança por falta de interesse das nações e da UE. Continuam a existir estratégias, estruturas e acordos separados no plano externo (PCSD, Relações Externas e Defesa) e no plano dos atores internos de segurança (Justiça e Assuntos Internos – JAI). Uma exceção reside no desenvolvimento de capacidades, onde as comunidades civil e militar coordenam crescentemente programas, em particular no setor aéreo e espacial. Com o propósito de ultrapassar a clivagem interna-externa, a UE terá que tomar medidas práticas: elaborar uma verdadeira Estratégia de Segurança Integrada articulando o domínio da PCSD com o da JAI; desenvolvimento holístico de capacidades e emprego de capacidades civis-militares em áreas como transporte, reconhecimento e comunicações; integração de sistemas de vigilância marítima civil e militar entre outras. Sem a liderança dos EUA, a Europa terá que assumir mais responsabilidades pela sua segurança. A força militar sendo necessária passará a fazer parte de um esforço mais amplo, colaborando com atores civis dentro e fora da Europa

Clusters : the drivers of european defence

Clusters: os Vetores Dinamizadores da Defesa Europeia O artigo examina o desenvolvimento destas modalidades de cooperação em três vertentes. Em primeiro à luz do impacto dos cortes orçamentais no quadro da defesa europeia até 2015. Em segundo, o desenvolvimento recente de novos formatos mais permanentes, destinadosa uma cooperação mais estruturante e de longa duração. Em terceiro, no enquadramento dado pelo aprofundamento da cooperação no domínio da defesa no plano operacional, mas também da manutenção, da logística e da aquisição de equipamentos de defesa. Examina ainda a forma como a Cooperação Estruturada Permanente pode oferecer uma oportunidade para o desenvolvimento de clusters de defesa, pese embora o empenho seletivo dos países europeus, atendendo à existência de outros formatos de cooperação multinacional. O sucesso destas iniciativas cooperativas depende consideravelmente da presença de confiança politica e solidariedade entre os Estados Membros, que permita a transformação de contributos em desempenhos concretos no plano da defesa. Conclui que os clusters especializados refletem a realidade, não se destinando à criação de um exército europeu, mas antes à construção de exércitos europeus de uma forma gradual, necessários a uma partilha mais eficaz da responsabilidade transatlântica e que reflita a intenção europeia de assumir a direção da sua segurança e defesainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The EU as a security actor in Africa

Instability and conflict in Africa create a range of security problems for Europe. Rapidly increasing migration via the Mediterranean Sea, extremism and terrorism, as well as cross-border crime, all have implications for security in Europe, but are spill-over effects of instability outside Europe. The European Union has a considerable interest in a stable Africa, and also seems willing to assume a special responsibility for the continent. This Clingendael report focuses on the European Union’s role as a security actor in Africa. It considers the use of all the policy instruments at the EU’s disposal. The authors concentrate mainly on the question how the integrated approach is evolving, and what consequences this has for the Common Security and Defence Policy

Conducting Research with Community Groups

Nurse scientists are increasingly recognizing the necessity of conducting research with community groups to effectively address complex health problems and successfully translate scientific advancements into the community. While several barriers to conducting research with community groups exist, community based participatory research (CBPR) has the potential to mitigate these barriers. CBPR has been employed in programs of research that respond in culturally sensitive ways to identify community needs and thereby address current health disparities. This manuscript presents case studies that demonstrate how CBPR principles guided the development of: (a) a healthy body weight program for urban, underserved African-American women, (b) a reproductive health educational intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women, and (c) a pilot anxiety/depression intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women. These case studies illustrate the potential of CBPR as an orientation to research that can be employed effectively in non-research intensive academic environments

Investigating pH Banding Kinetics of Chara corallina in Alternating Light Conditions with Rectangular Pulse Voltammetry

Chara corallina is an important biological model due to its large internodal cells, the simple shape, and the wide range of techniques that can be used to study it. The alternating acidic and basic banding pattern of Chara corallina upon illumination has been studied and well described over the past several decades. However, much of this complex mechanism is not fully understood. Few studies have shown how the acidic and basic regions have responded in real time as lighting conditions change. Utilizing rectangular pulse voltammetry (RPV) and pH-sensitive carbon microelectrodes along the cell wall allows for a real time profile of the banding activity upon removal and subsequent reintroduction of an illumination source. The live current profile obtained reveals aspects of the kinetics and upstream mechanism of each banding region. The acidic bands are shown to be active at a relatively constant level, regardless of light. However, the basic bands appear to be strictly controlled by photosynthesis and, far beyond that of the acidic bands, account for the majority of the pH change in the banding phenomenon. In addition, this data reveals much about the kinetics of the basic region, namely that the time to restart banding takes significantly longer than that to stop. Understanding these rates will lead to a better understanding of the overall mechanism and the unique characteristics of each pH zone

De EU als veiligheidsactor in Afrika

Instabiliteit en conflicten in Afrika veroorzaken verschillende veiligheidsproblemen voor Europa. De snel toenemende migratie via de Middellandse Zee, extremisme en terrorisme, alsmede grensoverschrijdende criminaliteit hebben gevolgen voor de veiligheid in Europa, maar zijn spill-over effecten van instabiliteit buiten Europa. De Europese Unie (EU) heeft veel belang bij een stabiel Afrika en zij lijkt ook een bijzondere verantwoordelijkheid voor het continent op zich te willen nemen. De verdiepingsstudie richt zich op de rol van de EU als veiligheidsactor in Afrika, waarbij het gaat om de inzet van het gehele beschikbare EU-instrumentarium. De auteurs concentreren zich vooral op de vraag hoe de geïntegreerde benadering van de EU zich verder ontwikkelt en welke gevolgen dit met zich meebrengt voor het Gemeenschappelijk Veiligheids- en Defensiebeleid