Euroscepticism vs. Political Pragmatism: The Finns Party tones down its criticism of the EU. EPIN Commentary No. 19, 26 June 2014

While many Eurosceptic parties in Europe achieved historical successes in this year’s EP elections, Finland’s populist Finns Party was unable to fulfil its own high expectations. With the eurozone crisis at least temporarily subsiding and Finland’s own economy struggling, the party has been unable to find a new electoral trump card. Facing a changed political climate and stiffer competition, the party is currently toning down its criticism of the EU, as indicated by its recent decision to join the British Tories in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group

EU:n ulkoinen terrorismin torjunta: kehitys, rakenteet ja toimet

Terrorismi on yksi merkittävimpiä turvallisuusuhkia Euroopassa. Sillä on rajat ylittävä luonne, ja sen torjunta edellyttää paitsi jäsenmaiden välistä yhteistyötä, myös laaja-alaista ulkoista toimintaa. Näistä viimeinen on tämän raportin tutkimuskohde. Raportissa pureudutaan EU:n ulkoisen terrorismin torjunnan käsitteisiin, muotoihin, kehitysvaiheisiin sekä toimijoihin ja toimiin. EU:n ulkoinen terrorismin torjunta tapahtuu pääosin neljässä eri muodossa: kansainvälisen diplomatian, kriisinhallinnan, ulkoisen avun ohjelmien sekä EU:n erillisvirastojen ulkoisen toiminnan kautta. Jokaisella näistä on omat, toisistaan poikkeavat toimija-, päätöksenteko- ja toimeenpanorakenteensa. Se tekee ulkoisesta terrorismin torjunnasta monimutkaisen ja vaikeasti hahmotettavan kokonaisuuden. Kompleksisuutta lisäävät myös useat meneillään olevat institutionaaliset muutosprosessit. Vaikka toiminnassa on omat haasteensa, on EU osoittanut merkittävää kykyä muokata toimintaansa uhkakuvien muuttuessa. Se on pystynyt tukemaan jäsenmaiden omia toimia erityisesti luomalla ja levittämällä yhteisiä käsitteitä ja käytäntöjä, pitämällä yllä laajaa kokonaiskuvaa sekä kehittämällä yhteistyötä erilaisten kumppanien kanssa. EU:n ulkoinen terrorismin torjunta on kuitenkin pitkälti riippuvainen jäsenmaiden kyvystä määritellä yhteiset poliittiset tavoitteet.Tämä julkaisu on toteutettu osana valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimussuunnitelman toimeenpanoa. (tietokayttoon.fi) Julkaisun sisällöstä vastaavat tiedon tuottajat, eikä tekstisisältö välttämättä edusta valtioneuvoston näkemystä

Euroopan unioni turvallisuusyhteisönä: Kansalaismielipide, asenne- ja arvoympäristö

Euroopan unionin turvallisuusympäristö on muuttunut huomattavasti viime vuosien aikana. Samalla keskustelu EU:n roolista kansainvälisessä politiikassa sekä eurooppalaisessa turvallisuudessa on kiihtynyt, ja EU on myös ottanut edistysaskelia turvallisuus- ja puolustuspolitiikan lohkoilla. EU:ta kohtaan asetetaan lisäksi yhä suurempia turvallisuuteen liittyviä odotuksia niin jäsenvaltioiden hallitusten kuin kansalaistenkin keskuudessa. Tämän raportin tavoitteena on tutkia kansalaisten näkemyksiä ja niiden taustalla vaikuttavaa asenne- ja arvoympäristöä, jotka liittyvät EU:n toimintaan turvallisuus- ja puolustuspolitiikassa. Hyödyntämällä turvallisuusyhteisön käsitettä raportissa arvioidaan kansalaisten näkemyksiä EU:sta niin poliittisena yhteisönä kuin myös turvallisuustoimijana. Tutkimuksen keskeinen johtopäätös on, että turvallisuuskysymykset ovat kansalaisten mielestä olleet EU:n integraatioon liittyvissä odotuksissa tähän mennessä toissijaisia. Viime vuosina terrorismi ja muuttoliikkeen hallinta ovat nousseet EU:ta läpileikkaaviksi huoliksi, joihin vastaaminen on kansalaisten silmissä aito prioriteetti nimenomaan EU-tasolla. Turvallisuusyhteisönä EU on monimuotoinen, mutta kansalaisten kesken tuntuu vallitsevan yhteisöllisyyttä, jonka varaan voi rakentaa muun muassa turvallisuuspoliittista solidaarisuutta

A stronger North? Nordic cooperation in foreign and security policy in a new security environment

Nordic cooperation on foreign and security policy has gained renewed attention in recent years. Changes in the Nordic states’ immediate security environment after the Ukraine crisis, as well as growing global uncertainty, have turned foreign, security and defence policy into a focal point of the Nordic agenda. Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation is characterized by informality, as it takes place outside of the institutional Nordic structures. This report assesses the current state of this cooperation by opening up structures and formats within which the informal cooperation takes place. The report then discusses future prospects for, as well as constraints on, deepening the cooperation from different angles, including agenda formation, institutional complexities, Nordic cooperation in multilateral contexts and bilateral Nordic relations. Defence cooperation forms a separate sub-field of Nordic cooperation, as it has its own unique structures and practices. The report takes a look at developments in Nordic defence cooperation, at both the political and the military level. Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation is based on commonality and trust. It enjoys a solid legitimacy among Nordic populations and politicians alike. The informal nature of the cooperation is perceived as one of its strengths. Nordic countries have significant potential for deeper cooperation and for obtaining a stronger voice. However, there are various drivers and considerable differences between the Nordic states in security political solutions, institutional affiliations, priorities and levels of commitment. These impose dividing lines and limitations on the cooperation that are hard to overcom

The changing global order and its implications for the EU

The forms of global political transition contradict each other. The Western leadership of the world seems to be in decline, with the US political hegemony being challenged by the rise of China and other emerging powers, and with global power structures evolving towards multipolarity. At the same time, however, there are increasing signs of a diffusion of state power. It involves a growing group of non-state actors challenging state power in very different forms and different capacities. This report focuses on the axis of state power considered the most important in terms of its global implications: the relationship between the US and China. This relationship is studied with the aim of assessing how the mutual interdependencies are evolving, and what the goals of the two actors look like in respect of their own global role. The implications of this power transition in the key fields of global governance – also covering the simultaneous diffusion of power to non-state actors – forms another relevant topic under review in the global context. Lastly, the report analyses how the EU contends with these forms of power transition and safeguards its own influence in this changing environment. The project also addresses the international role and influence of one of the northernmost EU members, Finland. It investigates how the changes in the global and regional setting should be understood from the Finnish point of view and how Finland should act in order to consolidate its international role.This publication is part of the implementation of the Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment and Research. (tietokayttoon.fi) The content is the responsibility of the producers of the information and does not necessarily represent the view of the Government

Ambiguous alliance : neutrality, opt-outs, and European defence

• EU member states that are neutral or militarily non-aligned, or that have an opt-out from common defence, are often overlooked in discussions about European defence. • The existence of these special status states not only creates uncertainty about the EU’s ambitions to become a fully fledged defence union but also calls into question the functionality of the mutual defence clause, Article 42.7, in the long run. • The special status states fall into three groups according to the challenges they pose to the EU: the “non-aligned in name only” (Finland and Sweden); the “odd one out” (Denmark); and the “strategic schnorrers” (Austria, Ireland, and Malta). • The EU’s work on its Strategic Compass should include debates on the special status states’ future role in European defence, as well as discussions on the operationalisation of the union’s mutual defence clause.peer-reviewe

Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback

Elections are the preferred way to freely transfer power from one term to the next and from one political party or coalition to another. They are an essential element of democracy. But if the process of power transfer is corrupted, democracy risks collapse. Reliance on voters, civil society organisations and neutral observers to fully exercise their freedoms as laid down in international human rights conventions is an integral part of holding democratic elections. Without free, fair and regular elections, liberal democracy is inconceivable. Elections are no guarantee that democracy will take root and hold, however. If the history of political participation in Europe over the past 800 years is anything to go by, successful attempts at gaining voice have been patchy, while leaders’ attempts to silence these voices and consolidate their own power have been almost constant (Blockmans, 2020). Recent developments in certain EU member states have again shown us that democratically elected leaders will try and use majoritarian rule to curb freedoms, overstep the constitutional limits of their powers, protect the interests of their cronies and recycle themselves through seemingly free and fair elections. In their recent book How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors of politics write: “Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments themselves” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018)

Direct Democracy in the EU –The Myth of a Citizens’ Union. CEPS Paperback, November 2018

The European Union has a democracy problem. The polycrisis that has plagued the EU for years has led to a cacophony of voices calling for fundamental change to the integration project. Yet despite the shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets caused by nativist parties across the continent, few of the plans for EU reform include concrete proposals to address the perennial democratic deficit. This book looks at how the relationship between citizens, the state and EU institutions has changed in a multi-layered Union. As such, it focuses more on polity than on populism, and does not engage deeply with policy or output legitimacy. Building on the notion of increasing social, economic and political interdependence across borders, this book asks whether a sense of solidarity and European identity can be rescued from the bottom up by empowering citizens to ‘take back control’ of their Union. Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens’ Union is part of the 'Towards a Citizens’ Union' project and is the product of collaboration with 20 renowned think tanks from the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN). It is the first of three publications that will also cover the state of representative democracy in the EU and the accountability of democratic institutions

A stronger north? : Nordic Cooperation in foreign and security policy in a new security environment

Nordic cooperation on foreign and security policy has gained renewed attention in recent years. Changes in the Nordic states' immediate security environment after the Ukraine crisis,as well as growing global uncertainty, have turned foreign, security and defence policy into a focal point of the Nordic agenda.Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation is characterized by informality, as it takes place outside of the institutional Nordic structures. This report assesses the current state of this cooperation by opening up structures and formats within which the informal cooperation takes place. The report then discusses future prospects for, as well as constraints on,deepening the cooperation from different angles, including agenda formation, institutional complexities, Nordic cooperation in multilateral contexts and bilateral Nordic relations. Defence cooperation forms a separate sub-field of Nordic cooperation, as it has its own unique structures and practices. The report takes alook at developments in Nordic defence cooperation, at both the political and the military level. Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation is based on commonality and trust. It enjoys a solid legitimacy among Nordic populations and politicians alike. The informal nature of the cooperation is perceived as one of its strengths. Nordic countries have significant potential for deeper cooperation and for obtaining a stronger voice. However, there are various drivers and considerable differences between the Nordic states in security political solutions, institutional affiliations, priorities and levels of commitment. These impose dividing lines and limitations on the cooperation that are hard to overcome.-- Introduction -- Overview of the current state of Nordic cooperation -- Prospects for development: practices, gaps and potential for Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation -- Nordic defence cooperation -- Conclusions: towards a stronger Nordic voice in international politic

The changing global order and its implications for the EU

The forms of global political transition contradict each other. The Western leadership of the world seems to be in decline, with the US political and military hegemony being challenged by the rise of China and other emerging powers and with global power structures evolving towards multipolarity. At the same time, however, there are increasing signs of a diffusion of state power. It involves a growing group of non-state actors challenging state power in very different forms and different capacities. This report focuses on the axis of state power considered the most important in terms of its global implications: the relationship between the US and China. This relationship is studied with the aim of assessing how the mutual interdependencies are evolving, and what the goals of the two actors look like in respect of their own global role. The implications of this power transition in the key fields of global governance – also covering the simultaneous diffusion of power to non-state actors – forms another relevant topic under review in the global context. Lastly, the report analyses how the EU contends with these forms of power transition and safeguards its own influence in this changing environment. The project also addresses the international role and influence of one of the northernmost EU members, Finland. It investigates how the changes in the global and regional setting should be understood from the Finnish point of view and how Finland should act in order to consolidate its international role in economic as well as political terms.-- Introduction -- The changing international system -- The EU in the context of the changing global order -- The changing international system: implications for Finlan