The 2010 Belgian EU presidency and CSDP
Col. Johan Andries, Head of the Presidency Task Force of Belgian Defence, takes stock of the Presidency. (Photo credit: EP, 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
Libya and the post-American world: implications for the EU
This Security Policy Brief looks at the vote on the UNSC resolution on Libya and tries to see in it some signs of the new international order in the making.Why […]
Mayhem in the Mediterranean: three strategic lessons for Europe
The crisis in Libya is a textbook example of a situation in which Europe, through the European Union, should have taken the lead and proved that it is an actor […]
First lessons from the Libya operations
In this Security Policy Brief, Jo Coelmont expresses his concern, if a comprehensive vision within the EU would remain absent. (Photo credit: Metziker, Flickr)
External publications
Global Europe: an emerging strategic actor
There have been dramatic changes to the landscape of European security in the twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The essays in European Security Since the Fall […]
A long-term strategy for Libya and the Mediterranean: over to the European Union
Now that operations have started, all eyes are fixed on the military intervention in Libya. That can only be useful though in the context of a comprehensive political strategy for […]