Defence: The European Council matters
Defence matters. This is the opening sentence (probably the shortest ever) of the conclusions of the December 2013 European Council. And that matters too. (Photo credit: Irish Defence Forces, Flickr)
Europe in the World
In a world that is largely driven by competition and rivalry (and partnership, yet) between great powers, understanding the Grand Strategy of each of these powers is crucial. So is developing a Grand Strategy for the EU itself. An EU that acts as one, as one pole of the multipolar world on a par with the other powers, is the only way to safeguard the way of life that the Member States of the EU have chosen, based on democracy, the free market, and equality.
Power cannot be divided: a global player must have political, economic, as well as military power. To that end, the Europe in the World Programme analyses the diplomacy and defence of the US, China, and Russia, and of the EU, NATO, and their members. We also focus on geoeconomics, researching Open Strategic Autonomy and the Global Gateway as key EU instruments, as well as the geoeconomic approaches of the other powers.
Defence policy is our third main axis of research, with a particular focus on European defence and its interaction with NATO, but also on nuclear deterrence and the deterrence of hybrid threats. Throughout all three research axis, we devote special attention to the role of Belgium, including notably the development of its own National Security Strategy and diplomatic and military capabilities.
Publications
The December European Council on security and defence. The desired outcome. A proposal for a “Memo” for your Head of State/Government
Main Political Message: Defence Matters. It’s about Europe’s place on the world stage and the overall expectation that Member States ought to achieve the autonomy to launch crisis management operations, […]
Commentaries
Coelmont: the desired strategic outcome of the EU Council on defence
Will the EU summit on 19 December 2013 be seen as a milestone in the development of our Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), similar to the St. Malo meeting […]
Security post-2014: what role for the EU and NATO?
EU-NATO relations ahead of the European Council in December 2013. Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly EU-NATO relations ahead of the European Council in December 2013. JOINT MEETING […]
The European Council and defence: the state of our ambition
Does Europe still have an ambition in defence beyond that of its academics, i.e. to write papers about it? When the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, put […]
Commentaries
Coelmont: A memorandum for the European Council on Security and Defence
The upcoming European Council on Security and Defence in December 2013 will be crucial to the future of European strategic policy. Here are seven points of action that the Heads […]