EU seeks truly strategic partners
On the EU’s strategic partnerships, their meaning and purposes. This commentary was published ahead of the 2010 European Council that addressed this issue. It was published simultaneously in French under […]
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
De patstelling in het Afghaanse ‘oorlogje’
in De Morgen, 15 Sept. 2010. (Photo credit: Pixabay)
Countering Afghan narcotics: a litmus test for effective NATO and Russia cooperation?
Afghan opiates kill 100,000 people a year globally. Every year NATO countries lose over 10,000 people to heroin overdoses. In Russia an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people die of drug […]
Searching for a Brussels Machiavelli
Neither a Machiavelli or a Bismarck has yet emerged from Brussels but it is time for the EU to start thinking about being a power on the world stage. A […]
Strategy wanted: the European union and strategic partnerships
The European Union (EU) has nine strategic partnerships with third countries, but the rationale behind these is far from evident, and the implementation questionable. Therefore, the raison d’être of these […]
Strategy and the importance of defence cooperation among EU member states
In the Royal Military Academy in Brussels on 13 July 2010 Jolyon Howorth gave the opening speech at a seminar on Permanent Structured Cooperation organized by the Belgian Presidency. This […]