The EU’s defence industrial policies – walking the walk with Euro-defence bonds
Over the last two years, the war in Ukraine has prompted the acceleration and multiplication of EU initiatives to enhance the European defence industry, and Europe’s ability to defend itself and support Ukraine’s defence. Besides spending better, spending together and getting private equity onboard, the next frontier for EU defence spending must be the issuance […]
EU-NATO relations – somewhere between dancing with two left feet and seamless tango
Russia’s war against Ukraine has proven to be a watershed moment for the EU, accelerating the development of a European Defence Union. But the EU and NATO must ramp up political cooperation and synergise resources to enhance European security and for the EU to credibly flex its muscles as a security and defence actor in […]
EU defence projects
European Defence Union (EDU) initiatives are proceeding at full steam ahead with the political backing of both the EU institutions and key Member States. The fourth wave of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects is but a recent example of such, with the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) set to dole out its […]
After Afghanistan
Shocking images of the historically unprecedented Afghanistan airlift caught the attention of people around the world. It also caught the attention of European Commission President Von der Leyen in her State of the Union address, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and European Commission Vice-President (HRVP) Josep Borrell, and European Council President Charles Michel, […]
Enlarging the European Defence Union to the Western Balkans
The European Council’s failure to agree on enlargement conclusions on 17 December 2020 will surely slow Western Balkan progress towards EU membership. One key policy domain is often ignored when speaking of enlargement, however. The Western Balkans’ security and defence architecture stands to lose from EU inertia. Elements of the Western Balkans’ efforts to converge […]