Volume 51
Dear Readers, The main thematic chapter of this issue deals with the use of space, which has symbolic power like no other field of technology. Space is a global common…
Protecting cities and people – expertise from Singapore
Interview with Chua Jin Kiat, Executive Vice President, International Defence Business, ST Engineering, Singapore With our magazine, we have been following European and international efforts in civil protection and disaster…
The future EU CBRN Reconnaissance and Surveillance System
by Hartmut Bühl, Paris On 10th April 2024, the European Defence Agency (EDA) took a big step forward in the early detection and reconnaissance of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear…
Electronic warfare in space
by Dennis-P. Merklinghaus, Spokesperson for Aerospace, Defense, Security at Rohde & Schwarz, Munich Space is globally recognised as being critical to economic success, national security and societal well-being. It is…
The added value for Europe in space cooperation with Asian partners
by Luke Hally, Founding Director of Terra Nova Consultancy, Brussels The security landscape of the 21st century is evolving rapidly, bringing new challenges that policymakers must swiftly address to adapt…
International cooperation for space security in the age of the great power competition
by Hideshi Tokuchi, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) and Asia correspondent of this magazine, Tokyo Space is important not only for scientific research and economy…
ESOC – Europe’s centre of excellence for satellite operation
by Hartmut Bühl, Paris The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) control centre and Europe’s centre of excellence for satellite operations. ESOC has been responsible…
Governance and security in outer space
by Dr Antje Nötzold, Senior Research Associate, Department of International Politics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany After land, sea and air, space has become the fourth dimension of human civilisation…
The public value of space exploration
by Dr Stefan Selke, Professor of Societal Change and Founder of the Public Science Lab, University of Furtwangen, Germany Imaginations about the new space age are increasingly finding a ready-to-receive…
Making better use of space
Interview with Margit Mischkulnig, Head of Department for Space Affairs, Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Vienna The European: Ms Mischkulnig, you are the Head…
The EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence
On 10 March 2023, the European Commission and the EU High Representative presented in a Joint Communication the “EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence” aimed at bridging the gap…
The role of space in ensuring the European Union’s security
by Timo Pesonen, Director-General, DG Defence Industry and Space, European Commission, Brussels In today’s complex and volatile geopolitical environment, space plays a pivotal role. It is crucial to protect the…
Many upheavals in the Middle East
by Gerhard Arnold, publisher and theologican, Middle East correspondent of this magazine, Würzburg The states of the Middle East have experienced considerable upheavals over the past few years, which should…
Which strategy to stop Putin’s war?
by Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Senior Research Fellow and Development Manager, Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris Although Europe provided a quick, united response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,…
Jens Stoltenberg received the Atlantik-Brücke Award
On 25 April 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg received Atlantik-Brücke’s Eric M. Warburg Award in Berlin “for his outstanding dedication to the transatlantic friendship and partnership in turbulent times”.…
The 19th NATO Life Cycle Management Conference
by Jørgen Bo Leimand, Naestved The 19th NATO Life Cycle Management Conference (LCM) took place in Brussels on 23-24 January 2024. The conference was attended by more than hundred delegates…
Franco-German relations remain a “must” for European defence
Interview with Denis Verret, former Senior Vice-President of EADS (now Airbus) and member of the Council of EuroDéfense-France, Paris, and Colonel (ret.) Ralph Thiele, Managing Director StratByrd Consulting and President…
The headache of European defence
by Hartmut Bühl, Paris It is time to face up to the fact that arrangements that have governed European security and defence policy for decades – with the US as…
Deepening European defence cooperation
Interview with Jiří Šedivý, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Brussels Hartmut Bühl: Mr Šedivý, EU governance is complex, especially when it comes to security and defence. Is…
Unlocking the potential of space-based technologies for civil protection
by Philippe Geffroy, PPRD Med Team Leader/ISTC Senior Programme Manager, mand Jean Muylaert, PPRD Med Deputy Team Leader/ISTC Expert for new technologies, Astana PPRD Med (Prevention, Preparedness, Response to natural…
16th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
by Nannette Cazaubon, Paris While farmers in several European countries express their anger, some because of the Green Deal environmental standards to which they are subjected, others on the contrary…
The human impact of the climate crisis
by Babatunde Anthony Ojei, Country Director for Nigeria, International Rescue Committee, Abuja While climate change may seem like a distant concern for many around the globe, it is a pressing…
Weaponization of water – a growing threat
by Marcus D. King, Professor of the Practice in Environment and International Affairs, Georgetown University, Washington D.C. Water stress is a growing problem in many parts of the world. Approximately…
Climate change matters to NATO
by Nannette Cazaubon, Paris Climate change matters for our security, and therefore it matters to NATO”, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said at the Dubai climate conference COP28 in December…
What’s behind weather extremes?
by Dr Johannes Bühl, Professor, Harz University, Wernigerode Firefighting plane in the area of Ancient Olympia, Peloponnese, Greece, 2021 Recently, notable and impactful weather events have brought the topic of…
Reshaping migration and asylum in Europe
Interview with Gerald Knaus, Founding chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin The reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is in full swing. If enacted, the legislative…
Poland on its way back to Europe!
by Hartmut Bühl, Paris “Poland is not lost yet,” is how the Polish national anthem begins. After the Polish legislative elections of 15 October 2023, Europe breathed a sigh of…
Call for a European strategic revolution
by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, President of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris Will Europe’s leaders finally wake up in 2024, a year that could well seal the continent’s fate for a long…
Issue No. 49
Dear Readers, Edition N°49 of our magazine is published at a time when wars are edging closer to us and people are worrying about security and peace. We decided to…
Protecting Europe from the next health threats
by Charlotte Renckens, Deputy Head of Unit, Directorate-General HERA, European Commission, Brussels HERA, a new player in the global health security landscape The recent pandemic is a stark reminder that…
Euro-Mediterranean cooperation
Interview with HE Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Barcelona/Cairo and Maciej Popowski, Director-General of DG ECHO, European Commission, Brussels The European: Mr Kamel and…
Facing the changing Euro-Mediterranean disas-ter risk landscape
by Nannette Cazaubon, Paris Three major meetings on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in civil protection were held in Barcelona and Valencia from 17 to 19 October 2023. Hosted by the Spanish Presidency…
The Republic of Korea’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific and Global Pivotal States
by Dr Eunsook Chung, Senior Fellow Emeritus of Security Strategy Studies at Sejong Institute, Seoul In December last year, South Korea also adopted its official version of an Indo-Pacific strategy…
Ensuring European security and support for Ukraine by better burden sharing
The European: Mr Kiesewetter, you are a member of the German Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs committee and an expert on security and defence. You recently called for the European Union (EU)…
EU and NATO – a complementary and interoperable partnership?
by Michael Gahler MEP, European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg On 4 December 1998 in St Malo, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair provided the initial impulse for the EU’s Common Security and Defence…
France and Germany’s differing approaches to NATO
by Cyrille Schott, Préfet de Region (h), and Board Member of EuroDefénse-France, Strasbourg Joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in different postures, from the beginning France and Germany did…
The story of NATO
A few years after the end of the second world war that left Europe in ruins, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was part of a broader…
Preparing for a European lion’s share
by Gesine Weber, Research Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, Paris Russia’s war against Ukraine has shown that the transatlantic alliance can deliver on challenges in its neighbourhood. NATO has…
The European Union and NATO – the same forces but different strategic objectives
by General Robert Brieger, Chairman of the European Union Military Committee (CEUMC), Brussels The war of attrition between Russia and Ukraine has certainly led to a rethinking of cooperation between…
NATO’s continuous transformation – an in-side view
Interview with Jean-Paul Paloméros, former Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (Norfolk), Paris Hartmut Bühl: General Paloméros, after serving as Chief of General Staff of the French Air Force, in 2012 you…
Mines and explosives in Ukraine – a deadly threat to people returning home
by Dr Peter M. Wagner, Director/Head of Service, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), European Commission, Brussels A sad reality Several people killed and injured by mines and explosives near…
Escalation and dashed hopes in the Middle East
by Gerhard Arnold, Theologian and Publisher, Middle East correspondent for this magazine, Würzburg Beer Sheva, Israel, 7 October 2023: Column of smoke from the impact of a Hamas rocket fired…
US presidential election 2024 – what if the winner is Donald Trump?
by Professor Dr Thomas Jäger, Chair of International Relations and Foreign Policy, Universität zu Köln, Cologne The New York Times polls from early November 2023 showed a clear picture of…
Resisting the descent into barbarity
The return of war to Europe and its periphery, with the horrendous descent into barbarity inherent in every armed conflict – illustrated by the Russian army’s atrocities in Ukraine, and,…
Cybersecurity is a societal problem
by Mo Cashman, EMEA Field CTO, Trellix, The Hague The World Economic Forum identified cybercrime and cyber “insecurity” as two of the key risks contributing to the current world polycrisis.…
The stakes in the European armament cooperation arena
Conversation between Dr Hans-Christoph Atzpodien, Managing Director of the Federation of German Security and Defence Industries (BDSV), Berlin and Hartmut Bühl, Paris At the end of July, I met with…
On the effectiveness of the European Un-ion in matters of defence
by Jacques Favin Lévêque, General ret., Versailles Despite nearly three decades of a slow and timid rise in power, the reality of European defence is modest and the result does…
Force projection to Africa
by Luke Hally, founding Director of Terra Nova Consultancy, Brussels The European Peace Facility (EPF) plays a significant role in Africa by supporting continental security initiatives. As an instrument of…
The Mediterranean – a region striving for stability
Interview with Ambassador Dr John Paul Grech, Deputy Secretary-General, Social & Civil Affairs, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Barcelona Hartmut Bühl: Ambassador, in June of this year, the high-level conference…
Maritime security in the North and Baltic Sea
by Dr Moritz Brake, independent expert and consultant on maritime security and strategy, Cologne When on 26 September 2022 the two “North Stream” pipelines exploded, there was a striking lack…
India’s maritime policy in the Indo-Pacific
by Debalina Ghoshal, Non-Resident Research Fellow at the Council on International Policy (Canada), and India correspondent for this magazine, Kolkata One of the key objectives of maritime powers in the…
Japan as a more reliable security partner in this connected world
by Professor Hideshi Tokuchi, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), and Asia correspondent for this magazine, Tokyo The Government of Japan released its new National Security…
The United States Indo-Pacific Strategy
by Michael Singh, Managing Director, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington There is transatlantic agreement that the “China challenge” is the most serious we face; but do we…
Working together for a healthy ocean
by Sebastian Unger, Federal Government Commissioner for the Ocean, Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany The world’s seas ensure the very survival of humankind.…
Europe and the Sea
by Admiral (ret) Alain Coldefy, President, Societé des Membres de la Légion d’Honneur (SMLH), Paris War made a tragic return to continental Europe when Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine in early…
The new EU Maritime Security Strategy
by Charlina Vitcheva, Director-General, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), European Commission, Brussels The new EU Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS)1 comes at a time of increasing geopolitical strife and…
The Saudi-Iranian rapprochement – background and perspectives
by Gerhard Arnold, Theologian and Publisher, Middle East correspondent for this magazine, Würzburg On 10 March 2023, senior government officials of Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in Beijing, after mediation…
Making the world safer in these challenging times
by Nannette Cazaubon, Paris Having reported several times on the “Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence” (CBRN CoE) initiative in our magazine, we are continuing to…
Europe as a security provider – time to step up
by Josep Borrell Fontelles, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission (HR/VP), Brussels It is time build the European Union (EU) into a…
We need more Europe, in spirit and in substance!
by Peter Tamm, Publisher, Hamburg, and Hartmut Bühl, Editor-in-Chief, Paris This 48th edition marks a new beginning for “The European – Security and Defence Union” magazine! Starting with this issue,…
For an “Olive-Green Deal”
by Dr Hans Christoph Atzpodien, Managing Director of Bundesverband Deutscher Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsindustrie (BDSV), and Lucas Hirsch, Sustainability Analyst at BDSV, Berlin It was in Paris in 2015 when 196…
The European Union’s southern neighbourhood
by Manuel de la Cámara Hermoso, EuroDefense-Spain, Madrid In 1995, the European Union (EU) launched the so-called “Barcelona process”, a comprehensive plan whose objective was to extend the area of…
Rearming together – a newchallenge for the European Union
Interview with Dr Jan Joel Andersson, Senior Analyst, European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Paris The European: Mr Andersson, as a Senior Analyst at the European Union Institute for…
The European Union Emergency Response Coordination Centre
A report by Hartmut Bühl, Paris Eager to know how the European Union Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) functions, I was very glad to be invited by Antoine Lemasson, who…
Saving as many livesas possible!
by Sabine Henzler, Director for Strategy and Impact, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Brussels No one can predict when disaster will strike, but science can help us prepare for…
The International Rescue Committee’s work on the ground
Interview with Babatunde Anthony Ojei, Country Director for Nigeria, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Abuja The European: Mr Ojei, you have been the Country Director for Nigeria of the non-governmental organisation…
Union for the Mediterranean,a close cooperation in civilprotection
Interview with Ambassador Dr John Paul Grech, Deputy Secretary General, Social & Civil Affairs, Union for the Mediterranean, Barcelona Hartmut Bühl: Ambassador Grech, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is…
Alone is not strong!
by Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director General, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine, now in its second year, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian people, with…
European neighbourhood solidarity and crisismanagement activities
by Tristan Simonart, Team Leader, International Cooperation, DG ECHO, European Commission, Brussels Due to their immediate geographic proximity, the European Union (EU) and its eastern and southern neighbouring regions and…
Responding to the sharp increase in emergencies across the world
Interview with Julia Stewart-David, Acting Director, Disaster Preparedness and Prevention/Civil Protection Horizontal Issues (ECHO B.1), and Hans Das, Director for Emergency Management and rescEU (ECHO A), DG ECHO, European Commission,…
Finland in NATO –a bitter geopolitical price for Moscow
by Harald Kujat, former Chief Military Committee NATO, Berlin On 4 April 2023, 74 years after the founding of the North Atlantic Alliance, Finland was admitted as its 31st member.…
The Syria-Türkiye earthquakes in 2023
by Dr Hazem Rihawi, Senior Programs Manager, American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS) / Co-Chair of InterAction’s Syria Working Group, Washington DC On February 6th, 2023, at 4:17 am, a…
Essentials on European defence
by Natalia Pouzyreff, Member of Parliament (Yvelines/6th district), Member of the Defence Committee, Assemblée Nationale, Paris Since 24 February 2022, the war on Europe’s doorstep has led to a surge…
European solidarity in action
by Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, European Commission, Brussels You are at home when you hear the wildfire warning over the radio. You need to leave immediately. Your…
Is the Third World War ableak prognosis?
Was the Ukrainian war correspondent, Yurii Butusov, right when he said, in a recent interview in the Neue Züricher Zeitung, that the Third World War has already begun with the…
The European Union continues its efforts in CBRN risk mitigation
(Ed/hb, Paris) This week, the European Union CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (EU CBRN CoE) Initiative holds its 9th International meeting of the National Focal Points in Brussels. Launched…
The Berlin Security Conference 2022
Conference report by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris The 21st Berlin Security Conference (BSC), which took place from 30-31 November 2022 had a very special character. Never before has a BSC…
Requirements for forces in times of a challenging security environment
Interview with Stefano Cont, Director Capacity, Armament & Planning (CAP), European Defence Agency, Brussels The European: Director, when you took over your position in April 2022 you declared: “At a…
NATO’s European pillar – what does it mean for European security and defence?
Interview with Michael Gahler MEP, European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg The European: Mr Gahler, you have been dealing with security and defence issues in the European Parliament since 2004 and have held…
Lessons for Europe to learn from recent hybrid and cyber-attacks
by Prof Dr Angelika Niebler MEP, EuropeanParliament, Brussels/Strasbourg Do you remember the attacks in September 2022 on the Nord Stream gas pipelines that connect Germany and Russia? The four explosions…
The new war of minds
by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, President of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris On 7 February, the European External Action Service (EEAS) released its first report on foreign information manipulation and interferences (FIMI),…
The EU cybersecurity strategy for facing current and future threats
by Dr Roberto Viola, Director General, DG CNECT, European Commission, Brussels As the digital and the physical worlds are converging more and more, it is of utmost importance to enhance…
How cyber-attacks are influencing global politics
by Professor Dr Thomas Jäger, Chair of International Relations and Foreign Policy, Cologne University, Cologne The international order is currently undergoing a geopolitical realignment. While the Unites States (US) and…
Digital dependency has become all-pervasive
by Nick Watts, Vice-President EuroDefense UK, London With the advent of a globalised and digitised world, the cyber threat has become all-pervasive. Unlike any other vector of warfare or terrorism,…
Franco-German relations – a tale of lost confidence and the need for new pragmatism
by Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Senior Research Fellow, Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris For some months now, the message has been clear in France: the Franco-German couple needs a “couple’s therapy”. The need…
Turkey’s new role and the Russia-Ukraine war
by Gerhard Arnold, Publisher and Middle East correspondent to this magazine, Würzburg Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on 24 February 2022, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has…
The war in Ukraine at a turning point?
Has the war in Ukraine reached a turning point with the announcement that the west will deliver “Leopard2” main battle tanks to Ukraine, after such a long time of hesitation…
Putting the French-German relations back on track
Interview with François Delattre, Ambassador of France to Germany, Berlin and Dr Hans Dieter Lucas, Ambassador of Germany to France, Paris The European: Excellencies, I am honoured that both of…
Europe facing the ultimate test?
Europe and the west have lost their balance. The war in Europe was the inducement to recognise that the world was experiencing a break with the past and that all…
The Union Civil Protection Mechanism
by Dr Antonella Cavallo, rescEU CBRN Lead, DG ECHO, European Commission, Brussels On 19th October in Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded a national order of merit to the…
The future Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Reconnaissance Surveillance System
by Johann Fischer, Head of Unit Land & Logistic, and Friedrich Aflenzer, Project Officer for CBRN Defence, European Defence Agency, Brussels The early detection and reconnaissance of chemical, nuclear and…
How to successfully prosecute CBRN crimes – from the crime scene to the courtroom
by Talgat Toleubayev, UNICRI’s Regional Coordinator of the CBRN Risk Mitigation and Security Governance Programme The development of a series of CBRN Guides is funded by the European Union (EU)…
Prevent, Protect, Recover
by Colonel Stephan Saalow, Commander CBRN Defence Command and Chairman FNC Cluster CBRN Protection, Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command, Bruchsal The use of fourth generation chemical agents in Salisbury (UK), continued nuclear sabre-rattling from…
Over 50 years of CBRN protection
Hartmut Bühl asked Hasso von Blücher (right) about innovative CBRN protection and the success of his company The conversation with the owner of Blücher GMBH took place in early 2019…
The EU’s CBRN Centres of Excellence policy is a human act
Interview with Bakhtiyor Gulyamov, Head of Regional Secretariat for Central Asia, EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative, Tashkent The European: Mr Gulyamov, you have been the Head of Secretariat of…
Society-encompassing CBRN protection in our Common European House
by Sebastian Meyer-Plath, Sales Director, BLÜCHER, Erkrath As Winston Churchill once very rightly observed, “national security is the primary duty of any government and certainly takes precedence over economic stability”.…
Horizon Europe – research to secure against CBRN risks
by Dr Philippe Quevauviller, Policy and Research Programming Officer, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Brussels* To set the scene, it is important to stress that CBRN research cannot…
The EU’s unique approach to tackling CBRN threats, with the support of the UN
Interview with Natalie Pauwels, Head of Unit, European Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, Brussels, and Marian de Bruijn, Programme Coordinator, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI),…
The EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative gains maturity
Report on the 8th National Focal Points meeting of the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative by Nannette Cazaubon, Paris After a forced three-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic,…
Mission-oriented full spectrum CBRNe protection
by Dr Andreas Arnold, Director of Product Management, Blücher GmbH, Erkrath The comparison of current threats with common scenarios of the past, and the analysis of mission concepts, incidents and…
What does CBRN mean?
The following definitions are excerpt from a study on “EU preparedness and responses to Chemical, Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats”. The study, requested by the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on…
CBRN protection is vital for our continent
European political leaders have understood that is vital for the continent to request the best and the utmost from Member States in a close civil-military cooperation aiming to counter CBRN…
The European Security & Defence Union dedicates its latest issue to the EU CBRN CoE
The independent magazine for European security and defence policy ‘The European Security & Defence Union’ dedicates its latest edition to the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence initiative. The quarterly publication…
The future Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Reconnaissance Surveillance System
by Johann Fischer, Head of Unit Land & Logistic, and Friedrich Aflenzer, Project Officer for CBRN Defence, European Defence Agency, Brussels The early detection and reconnaissance of chemical, nuclear and…
The importance of European steel production
by Silvio Stockmann, Member of the Advisory Board of DIHAG Holding GmbH, andTobias Romanowsky, Sales Engineer SHB Stahl und Hartgusswerk, Bösdorf GmbH, Leipzig With Covid-19 and the blockage of the…
Military mobility for European land forces
Report by Hartmut Bühl on his information visit to General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) at the Eurosatory exhibition near Paris in June 2022 Military mobility was one of the…
There is no either/or in arms cooperation between Europe and America
Interview with Lutz Kampmann, Managing Director of Northrop Grumman LITEF Holding GmbH, Freiburg The European: Mr Kampmann, you have been the Managing Director of LITEF since 2019 after holding several…
Keeping troops effective in the face of advanced CBRN threats
by Colonel Stephan Saalow, Commander CBRN Defence Command and Chairman FNC Cluster CBRN Protection, Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command, Bruchsal The use of fourth generation chemical agents in Salisbury (UK), continued nuclear sabre-rattling from…
The implementation of an innovative idea
Interview with Mohamed Salami, Head ofRegional Office, African Atlantic Facade (AAF), EU CBRN Centres of Excellence, Rabat The European: Mr Salami, you have been the Head of the Regional Office…
An onsite observation in Lebanon
by Günter Povoden, key expert with the On-Site Assistance (OSA) for the Middle East region of the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative, Vienna The distinguished reader knows that “Arz”…
The EU’s CBRN Centres of Excellence policy is a human act
Interview with Bakhtiyor Gulyamov, Head of Regional Secretariat for Central Asia, EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative, Tashkent The European: Mr Gulyamov, you have been the Head of Secretariat of…
The Union Civil Protection Mechanism
by Dr Antonella Cavallo, rescEU CBRN Lead, DG ECHO, European Commission, Brussels On 19th October in Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded a national order of merit to the…
The EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative gains maturity
Report on the 8th National Focal Points meeting of the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative by Nannette Cazaubon, Paris After a forced three-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic,…
The EU’s unique approach to tackling CBRN threats, with the support of the UN
Interview with Natalie Pauwels, Head of Unit, European Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, Brussels, and Marian de Bruijn, Programme Coordinator, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI),…
Why Europe is supporting Ukraine
by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, President of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris Europe is fragile. The sum of so many democracies cannot be a smooth river. They are all plagued by regressive,…
Horizon Europe – research to secure against CBRN risks
by Dr Philippe Quevauviller, Policy and Research Programming Officer, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Brussels* To set the scene, it is important to stress that CBRN research cannot…
The revision of Japan’s National Security Strategy
by Professor Hideshi Tokuchi, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), Tokyo, and East Asia correspondent of this magazine The government of Japan has been engaged in…
US-Europe security cooperation at the crossroads
by Michael Singh, Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington For years, American strategists have warned that the world was changing, but their…
The Ukraine war and the rivalry of the great powers
by Harald Kujat, General (ret), former German Chief of Defence and former Chairman Military Committee NATO, Lögow The 21st century is marked by the rise of the Peoples’ Republic of China…
The lonely dictator
How can Putin’s policy of enslaving his people, consistently enforced for 21 years, fail when it comes to Ukraine? The Russian dictator is losing more and more ground with his…
For a credible and efficient defence of Europe
by Patrice Mompeyssin, Brigadier General (ret), Secretary General of the EURODEFENSE network, ParisThe 2022 annual meeting of the EURODEFENSE network, with representatives from 15 countries, took place in Paris from…
Security steels for Europe
by Jörg Maffert, Marketing and Technical Support Manager, Dillinger Hüttenwerke AG, Dillingen The increasingly unstable geopolitical security situation, with war in Europe and terrorist attacks especially in the Sahel in…
China’s counter measures against US Theatre Missile Defence
by Debalina Ghoshal, Non Resident Fellow, Council on International Policy;Indian Correspondent of this magazine,Kolkata Qualitative improvements in China’s nuclear forces are a result of its nuclear doctrine of ‘no first…
How to successfully prosecute CBRN crimes – from the crime scene to the courtroom
by Talgat Toleubayev, UNICRI’s RegionalCoordinator of the CBRN Risk Mitigation and Security Governance Programme The development of a series of CBRN Guides is funded by the European Union (EU) Chemical,…
Creating strength by joint higher military education
Interview with Ilmar Tamm, Brigadier General, Commandant of the Baltic Defence College, Tartu The European: General, you are the current Commandant of the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia. Your…
30 years of EUROCORPS
Interview with Lieutenant GeneralPeter Devogelaere, Commander EUROCORPS, Strasbourg The European: General, you have been the Commanding General of EUROCORPS for almost a year now. During that time, you have been…
All that glitters is not gold
by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, ParisIn early June 2022, the French “Forum de Défense et de Stratégie” (FDS) in cooperation with the French Embassy in Berlin and with the support of…
Putin’s war of aggression and its implications for European security and defence
by Michael Gahler MEP, European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg 24th February this year marks a turning point in European as well as global security. With its illegal and unprovoked attack against Ukraine,…
The Union Civil Protection Mechanism
by Dr Antonella Cavallo, rescEU CBRN Lead,DG ECHO, European Commission, Brussels In a heartfelt address at the European Civil Protection Forum on 28th June, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister…
How to realise EU enlargement with the Balkans and Ukraine
Interview with Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman, European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin The European: Gerald Knaus, we meet at a historic moment for the European project, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.…
How to help the EU’s eastern neighbours solve major challenges in peace and security
by Teresa Czerwińska, Vice-President, European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg For the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the countries to our east are important partners and friends.…
There must be coherence between enlargement and Schengen policy
by Professor Ioan Mircea Pașcu, former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Bukarest “Enlargement” and the “Schengen regime” were conceived as somehow complementary: once fulfilling the “acquis”, a new member was…
European enlargement, security and defence on the rise
by David McAllister MEP, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), Brussels/Strasbourg The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the grave and wholesale violations of human…
Strategic leadership in the European Union
A conference reportby Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris Under the patronage of the French EU Presidency, a two-day conference was held at the Ecole Militaire in Paris on 9th and 10th…
European security and the management of simultaneous crises
by Gesine Weber, Research Analyst, German Marshall Fund of the United States, Paris “When your own house is on fire, you don’t send your entire fire brigade to fight a…
European sovereignty
by Cyrille Schott, honorary Prefect of region, member of the bureau of EuroDéfense-France, Strasbourg The issue of European sovereignty has been highlighted by Russian aggression in Ukraine. Beyond the necessary…
“Brain dead” in 2019, NATO has revived in 2022
Commentary by Hartmut Bühl The NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June 2022 was the most decisive summit of this century. The Alliance adopted a new Strategic Concept…
Has the time for EU power come?
by Dr Delphine Deschaux-Dutard,Associate Professor, University Grenoble Alpes, CESICE, Grenoble, and Bastien Nivet, Senior Lecturer, EMLV, Paris La Défense The military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has forced…
NATO and climate change
by Michael Rühle, Head Climate and Energy Security Section, Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO, Brussels Climate change has become humanity’s greatest challenge. The effects of global warming – melting polar…
Europe’s defence challenges in times of conflict
by Jiří Šedivý, Chief Executive, and Jean-François Ripoche, Director of Research, Technology and Innovation of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Brussels After the appalling and totally unjustifiable Russian aggression against…
A first glance at the EU Strategic Compass
After intense negotiations, the European Union (EU) has finally adopted its so-called Strategic Compass, a forty-page paper published on 21st March 2022. Comprising a common vision for the Union’s role…
Success with cooperative EU-NATO defence acquisitions
The MMF Programme is a referencefor future defence armament cooperation photo: © MMU by Joachim Weidmann, OCCAR-EA, MMF Programme Manager and Coordinator; Angel Saiz-Padilla, NSPA, MMF Principal Coordinator Officer, and…
How to harmonise defence, security and sustainability on a European scale
by Dr Hans Christoph Atzpodien,Managing Director of the Federation of German Security and Defence Industries e.V. (BDSV), Berlin In the current European debate, our security requirements and need to defend…
Hybrid warfare is a serious threat to European prosperity and security
by Ralph Thiele, President of EuroDefense Germany and Chairman of the Political-Military Society, Berlin The world is in the midst of a tectonic shift. Global competition for security architectures, trade and…
A military strategy for the European Union
by Ricardo Dias da Costa, Professor of Strategy and Military Operations at the PortugueseMilitary University Institute (IUM), Lisbon The use of expressions such as the “sovereignty” or “strategic autonomy” of…
Europe’s defence – collective responsibilities
by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris V ladimir Putin has achieved the impossible: in a few days, his war against Ukraine has made the European Union (EU)politically move further than it…
Ukraine between the Atlantic and the Urals
by Jean Dufourcq, Counter Admiral (ret), co-founder of Vigie, synthèse stratégique,Paris The Russian aggression in Ukraine, a human tragedy of a bygone era, harks back to the European wars of…
EU-Japan security cooperation in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
by Professor Hideshi Tokuchi, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) and Indo-Pacific correspondent of this magazine, Tokyo R ussia’s invasion of Ukraine is a blatant violation…
Has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created NATO’s “watershed moment”?
by Dr Klaus Wittmann, Brigadier General (ret), Lecturer in contemporary history at Potsdam University, Berlin C ertainly, the invasion on 24th February 2022, long prepared by the ever tighter military…
European strategic autonomy and a reinvigorated Atlantic Alliance
by Jean-Paul Paloméros, General (ret), former Supreme Commander Transformation NATO (Norfolk), Paris Not so long ago, discussing European strategic autonomy was considered by many as a non-starter. First and foremost…
Assuring equivalent protection for European Union civil and military personnel in missions
by Fred Stoof, owner of Stoof International GmbH, Borkheide/Berlin E uropean Union operations and missions are deployed within the framework of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). In…
Nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and North Africa?
by Gerhard Arnold, Theologian and Publisher, Middle East correspondent of this magazine, Würzburg A mong experts, it is disputed whether the Iranian leadership is aiming to possess nuclear weapons at…
Values that make us unique and strong in a multi-lateral geopolitical world
by Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Research, Innovation, Culture, Education and Youth,European Commission, Brussels T he provoked war in Ukraine is the most recent signal of the need to defend our…
The Ukrainian tragedy and the future of refugee protection
by Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin The Russian invasion of Ukraine represents a turning point in European history. The leader of a nuclear power…
“Your fight is our fight”
On 8th April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen together with the EU High Representative Josep Borrell travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a joint…
Enhancing resilience – preparing to protect against chemical threats
by Sebastian Meyer-Plath, Sales Director, BLÜCHER GmbH, Erkrath R esilience is a term that has been increasingly used in the recent past to describe the capability of a community, organisation,…
Europe and the sea
Interview with Alain Coldefy, Admiral (ret),former Major General of the French Armed Forces, Paris The European: Admiral, in your book “Amiral – Le sel et les étoiles” you have succeeded…
From strategic autonomy to strategic sovereignty
by Frédéric Mauro, lawyer at the Brussels’ bar and associate researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), Brussels/Paris A draft of the “strategic compass”, the first White…
30 years of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen)
Interview with Sorin Ducaru, Director of theEuropean Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), Torrejón The European: Mr Ducaru, allow us to express our warmest congratulations on the 30th anniversary of your agency!…
The future of European defence: beyond EU and NATO
by Gesine Weber, Program Coordinator,German Marshall Fund of the United States, Paris Since 2016, European defence cooperation has made great leaps forward: the EU has launched the European Defence Fund…
European Parliament Resolution on the Arctic
On 7th October 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution entitled “The Arctic: opportunities, concerns and security challenges”. [The Parliament] 1. Reaffirms that the Arctic is of strategic and political…
Russia is not a partner, but a political opponent the west needs to reckon with
by Dr Sabine Fischer, Senior Research Fellow, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik/German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin After almost eight years of conflict since Russia’s annexation of Crimea…
New dimensions of Russia-China relations
by Prof Ioan Mircea Pașcu, former Defence Minister of Romania and former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Bucarest Any attempt to better understand the current relations between China and Russia…
India’s sea-based nuclear second-strike options
by Debalina Ghoshal, non-resident fellow at the Council on International Policy and Indian correspondent to this magazine, Kolkata Nuclear Weapon States (NWSs) – China, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and…
The Yellow Sea in an era of growing Chinese ambitions and South Korea
by Dr Eunsook Chung, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Department of Security Strategy Studies, The Sejong Institute, South Korea According to the US Department of Defense’s annual China…
Preparing for Taiwan contingencies
by Hideshi Tokuchi, Professor, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), Tokyo Today, the Taiwan Strait is a frontline of the systemic rivalry between the US and…
A rising China reshapes the Asia-Pacific
by Ambassador Barry Desker, Distinguished Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore The coming decade will see increasing competition between the United…
What the European Union has to realise in security and defence
Interview with Moritz Brake, Kapitänleutnant and Lecturer for Maritime Security and Strategy, University of Bonn The European: Mr Brake, the European Union (EU) is currently facing adversity, geopolitical competition and…
The realignment of US geopolitical objectives in the world
by Prof Thomas Jäger, Professor and political scientist, University of Cologne It continues to be an accurate definition of US central geostrategic interest that no power should become so dominant…
The European Union is striving for more influence in the Arctic
by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris The Joint Communication on ”A stronger EU engagement for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic” (https://bit.ly/3npDlii ) presented by the EU High Representative and the…
Stop the Covid-19 pandemic
by William Cockburn, Interim ExecutiveDirector, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be one of the biggest challenges that our societies and economies…
Putin needs to receive a convincing answer!
by Jacques Favin Lévêque, Général (ret),Versailles, and Claude Roche, Vice-President of the Académie de l’Air et de l’Espace, Paris The recent draft security treaty presented by Russia proposes bilateral guarantees…
France and Germany – so far apart and yet so close
There is no alternative to the Franco-German tandem by Cyrille Schott, former director of the National Institute for Advanced Security and Justice Studies (INHESJ), member of EuroDéfense France, Strasbourg, and…
“The Union must be in the driving seat!”
Questioning initiatives in European defence In a telephone conference, we asked Dipl-Ing, Major General (ret), Reinhard Wolski, Moderator of The Berlin Security Conference, to take a stand on some of…
Strategy for European and NATO partnerships
Contribution in missile technology to the EU’s strategic compass Interview with Thomas Gottschild, Managing Director of MBDA Deutschland GmbH and Executive Group Director Strategy MBDA, Schrobenhausen The European: Mr Gottschild, MBDA…
Security and Defence
The European Union is continuing efforts to develop own defence capabilities in cooperation, adapting structures and creating financial instruments for security and defence. Although European armaments cooperation is still in its infancy,…
“Resilience” is a necessary yet insuf-ficient condition of European security in cyberspace
by Jean-Louis Gergorin and Léo Isaac-Dognin, co-authors of “Cyber, la guerre permanente” (Editions du Cerf, 2018), Paris A year ago, we voiced our concerns regarding the exponential rise of ransomware attacks,…
Britain’s continued commitment to European defence
A European Security Council provides the basis for re-engagement by Robert Walter, President of EuroDéfense-United-Kingdom, London The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the apparent continuation, under President Biden, of “America First”,…
Russia is a Transatlantic-European partner, but the West is continuously failing to accept it as such
The world is too complex for every country to adhere to the same political recipes by Vladimir A. Chizhov, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, Brussels Though relations between…
France and Germany must unite their interests in a common global strategy
by Dr Ronja Kempin, Senior Fellow at EU/Europe Research Group, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin For a long time, the German federal government, led by Chancellor…
Europe’s special interest in a strong NATO, partnering with the European Union
The EU has to shoulder more responsibility for security and order in its near abroad by Christian Schmidt, former German Federal Minister, President of the German Atlantic Association and High…
We must accept that there are limits to exporting our western values
The failure of the NATO concept in Afghanistan Interview with General (ret) Harald Kujat, former German Chief of Defence and Chairman NATO Military Committee, Berlin The European: General Kujat, in politics,…
NATO 2030: securing an uncertain future
by Camille Grand, Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment, NATO, Brussels We face a challenging security environment marked by systemic competition from assertive powers, instability near Europe’s borders, terrorism, cyber-attacks, disinformation,…
The essence of the transatlantic security and defence relationship
Interview with Professor Dr Hans-Gert Pöttering, former President of the European Parliament, Berlin The European: Professor Pöttering, what was your first thought when you heard US President Joe Biden, on the…
Europe in a post-Merkel world…
In Brussels, the old Greek saying that progress is only stimulated by crises carries weight. The fact that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is taking her leave of the circle…
Covid-19: How industry can powerfully contribute to healthcare
by Kaan Savul, Head of International Cooperation and Global Affairs, Ecolog Deutschland, Düsseldorf To the many entrenched global inequalities – wealth distribution, education attainment, life expectancy and human rights –…
The law that is inconvenient, but which protects
by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, President of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris European judges are being criticised by European populists for undermining the “legal sovereignty” of EU member states. The law has…
War in a robotic age
by Israel Rafalovich, Journalist, BrusselsDefence strategists and planners are confronted to a rapidly approaching future with a new war fighting regime where unmanned and autonomous systems play central roles. For…
The French-German armament cooperation: difficult but essential for Europe
by Patrick Bellouard, former Président EuroDéfense France, Paris, and Cyrille Schott, Préfet (h) de Région, member of EuroDéfense France, Strasbourg The Franco-German engine is essential for Europe, including in armament…
Specificities of German parliamentary democracy in armaments policy
by Dr Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann MdB, member of the Bundestag and the federal board of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Berlin The model of the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, as…
Shaping the role of the EU in armament cooperation and export
by Maria Camello, Analyst, and Federico Santopinto, Senior analyst at GRIP*, Brussels In 1951, the coal and steel industries were still the lifeblood of the war. The idea of entrusting…
An integrated approach for sustainable security
by Vice Admiral Hervé Bléjean, Director General European Union Military Staff /Director Military Planning and Conduct Capability, Brussels The security situation faced by Europeans today can be increasingly characterised by…
EU Satellite Centre: operational support to the CFSP and CSDP
by Sorin Ducaru, Director of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), Madrid With nearly 30 years since its foundation, the EU Satellite Centre (SatCen) has established itself as the prime…
The EU migration policy we need
by Panagiotis Nikas, Founding Director of ZEUXIS, Athens On 28th July, we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Refugee Convention (the Convention). Its core concept is the protection of…
The castaways of hell
by François Thomas, President of SOS MEDITERRANEE France, Marseille has been the president of SOS MEDITERRANEE France since June 2019. He holds a master’s degree in international transport and is…
The displaced – a continuous failing of the global community
by Andrea Quaden, humanitarian aid worker, Syria I have been working to the best of my abilities with and for the displaced children, women and men of this world for more…
Frontex’s role in safeguarding – European security
by Fabrice Leggeri, Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Warsaw Over the last five years Frontex has become one of the most dynamic EU agencies. The…
Environmental migration – multifarious solutions to engage now
by Mariam Traore Chazalnoel, Senior Policy Officer, and Dina Ionesco, Head of the Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division, International Organization for Migration (IOM)1, Geneva The impacts of climate change…
Between solidarity and responsability
by Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Head of Publications, and Ramona Bloj, Head of Studies, Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris In terms of migration policy, the EU has a shared competence. Its intervention depends…
Migration, border security and asylum
Interview with Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Luxembourg, and Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin While the…
Defeating Covid-19 through worldwide common digital procedures
Interview with Dr Dirk Wössner, CEO, CompuGroup Medical, Koblenz The European: Dr Wössner, you became the Chief Executive Officer of CompuGroup Medical (CGM) in 2021, at a time when the…
Afghanistan – a loss of Western credibility
On 11th September (9/11) all American soldiers will have left Afghanistan. Joe Biden, the new US President, has followed the policy set out by his predecessor and his countrymen will…
The role of third states in guiding the EU’s security policy
by Christopher Eid, PhD student on European policy, France The search for closer relations between the European Union and the countries of the Mediterranean basin has taken the form of…
America is back to world policy
Interview with Michael Singh, Managing Director, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, D.C. The European: Mr Sing, during the last year we saw pictures of America, which shocked…
Stepping up: a stronger Europe for stronger transatlantic security and defence
by Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Munich In Europe, the sigh of relief was noticeable when President Biden stressed the renewed US commitment to NATO at…
Unmanned systems – ethics and international law
Responsibility must remain in human hands by Dr Michael Stehr, Advocate, Board Member of EuroDefense, Bonn, Germany A cultural bias seems to dominate debates on “autonomous systems” with perceptions and expectations…
A Force for the EU and NATO – Eurocorps is a concrete contribution to the security of Europe and its allies
“The international composition of Eurocorps means that we have to consider each individual nation’s approach and then adopt the best one.” Interview with Lieutenant General Laurent Kolodziej, Commanding General Eurocorps,…
There are many ways to raise the cost of an attack for an aggressor: Deterrence in the 21st century: necessary, but not sufficient
by Michael Rühle, Head of the Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security Section, NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division, Brussels For over seven decades, deterrence has been a key concept of western…
Reinforcing European defence with deeper and wider partnerships
Support multilateral efforts to maintain and build peace globally by Dr Kinga Brudzinska, Policy Director, Centre for Global Europe, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, and Lucia Rybnikárová, MA, Project Coordinator, GLOBSEC Policy…
Globalisation accelerates invisible “wars”
Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris One year after its irruption into our lives, the Covid-19 pandemic remains at the top of the political agenda and media focus, to the extent that…
The role of EDA in shaping European defence
The Agency is the European hub for collaborative capability development “We need to stay on course and continue the implementation of the new EU defence tools that have been created…
Space NEWS Synergies +++ Spin-offs +++ Spin-ins – Creating synergies between innovation in space, defence and civil research
(ed/hb, Paris) On 22nd February 2021, the European Commission adopted the Communication on an Action plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries. “With the European Defence Fund we…
Global Earth Observation strategies for the reduction of climate-security threats – Entering a new era
by Sinéad O’Sullivan, Research Fellow, Center for Climate and Security, Washington, D.C. The last year has created ample evidence showing that the impacts of climate change and climate-related threats are…
Water stress threatens global political and economic stability – Climate change related migration will become one of the most substantial global challenges
by Dr Marcus DuBois King, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Governments, industry, and civil society are facing urgent political and economic risks to water security.…
Taking climate change seriously
(ed/Céline Merz, Linz am Rhein) On 11th December 2019, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, a growth strategy with the objective of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent…
A pragmatic way of thinking and acting: The green deal in the Asia Pacific Region
by Olzod Boum-Yalagch, Chairman of the Mongolian Green Party, Ulaan-Baatar In these days of “pandemic” disasters, mankind is looking for solutions to address social, economic and environmental challenges. We believe…
Digitalisation and climate protection: can they go hand in hand?
by Oliver Bruzek, Policy officer of CompuGroup Medical (CGM), Berlin The question of whether the comprehensive digitalisation of our society can contribute to sustainable economic activity and active climate protection,…
There is glory in prevention
Why boosting climate policy must be at the heart of our coronavirus pandemic recovery by Dr Anton Hofreiter MdB, Co-chair of the parliamentary group Alliance 90 / The Greens in…
The importance of aerosol, cloud and wind research for Europe
Europe must invest in high value space technology by Dr Johannes Bühl, postdoctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute for TroposphericResearch (TROPOS), Leipzig Dr Johannes Bühl is a postdoctoral researcher at…
EU Cohesion Policy: leaving no one behind in the green transition
We need to achieve a green but just and fair transition by Marc Lemaître, Director-General, DG for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission, Brussels Climate change and environmental degradation are…
British vision of future cooperation in European security and defence
by Robert Walter, former MP and President of the European Security and Defence Association, London On 16th March, the United Kingdom published its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and…
Strengthened Arab-Israeli relations: development prospects and many unanswered questions
by Gerhard Arnold, Theologian and Publisher, Würzburg The Arab “axis of resistance” against Israel has broken, even if two long-standing hostile neighbours, Lebanon and Syria, will not hear of normalisation…
Is PESCO able to reinforce the credibility of the Common Security and Defence Policy?
by Natalia Pouzyreff and Michèle Tabarot, members of the French National Assembly, Paris In October 2020, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defence Committee of the French National Assembly entrusted…
Facing the Covid-19 crisis in conflict zones worldwide
by Hilde Hardeman, Director of the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), Brussels The EU launched a comprehensive response to the Covid-19 pandemic, focussing both on the needs…
Facing new realities after the Covid-19 pandemic
It is high time for the EU to make strategic choices by David McAllister MEP, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg As Europe begins its path…
The impact of Covid-19 on European defence
by Patrick Bellouard, President of EuroDéfense-France, Paris Since the beginning of 2020, Covid-19 and its economic and social impacts have revealed the vulnerability and dependencies of Europe in the health…
European Security and Defence – an operational perspective
by General Eberhard Zorn, Chief of Defence, Berlin As Europeans, we have demonstrated solidarity with our partners and allies in the past months and supported each other in the fight…
Luxembourg’s strong commitment to the EU and NATO
Interview with François Bausch, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Luxembourg The European: Minister, Luxembourg is rightly recognised for the role it plays in the international community and its…
European defence forces versus European army
by Frédéric Mauro, Associate Research Fellow at IRIS, Lawyer at the bar of Brussels The need for a common defence of the European Union has been acknowledged since the early…
Towards a European Defence Union
by Michael Gahler MEP, Brussels/Strasbourg The Covid-19 pandemic is the most severe global crisis we are facing since World War 2. Fighting it is undoubtedly our current top priority. At…
Israel’s peace with Arab countries – a new chance to stabilise the Middle East?
by Arie Egozi, journalist, Tel Aviv A serious look at the Normalisation Agreements, also referred to as the “Abraham accords” signed on 15th September at the White House in Washington…
Maintaining the rules-based international order in the age of the US-China rivalry
by Professor Hideshi Tokuchi, Senior Fellow, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo In 1954, when the then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshida visited west Germany, he emphasised to the Germans…
Back to normal transatlantic relations
The impact of the US election on Europe by General (ret.) Harald Kujat, formerm Chairman NATO Military Committee, Berlin No sooner is the election over than expectations are mounting on…
Security and defence, both interdependent sides of the same coin
It is the crisis that ultimately moves the lines by Cyrille Schott, Préfet (h.) de région, Member of the Board of EuroDéfense France, Paris Security occupied the minds of Europe’s…
The EU should leverage its economic and diplomatic power
Ransomware is becoming a systemic threat to Europe’s economy by Jean-Louis Gergorin, former Executive VP for Strategy of EADS, and Léo Isaac-Dognin, Director for Digital Trust, Capgemini Invent, Paris Cybercrime…
The world’s largest free trade zone
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris Trade deals do not only have an economic impact. They also have a geopolitical aspect, cultural outcomes and often…
Political and economic consequences for Europe
Presidential elections in the United States by Michael Singh, Managing Director, and Charles Thépaut, Visiting Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, D.C. The period from 2017–2020 will…
A critical view from the European Parliament
Is the German presidency succeeding to consolidate the Union and reinforce the European institutions? by Nicola Beer MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Strasbourg/Brussels Big plans lie ahead. They set…
Towards a Strategic Compass for the EU
Concrete solutions for concrete challenges by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Brussels The urgency of the EU’s…
The effectiveness of a state depends on the confidence generated by its leaders
by Cyrille Schott, Préfet (h.) de région, Member of Board of EuroDéfense France, Paris If the performance of authoritarian regimes and democracies in the face of the pandemic has been…
Covid-19: after the pandemic is before the next
by Professor Dr Ulf Dittmer, Director of the Institute for Virology, University Medicine Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen Viruses are very small pathogens that cannot be seen without significant magnification. However,…
Digital health is a win-win situation for all
The Covid-19 pandemic has given powerful impetus to the digital transformation of health and care by Dr Roberto Viola, Director-General, DG Connect, European Commission, Brussels Digital technologies promise to make…
European health policy – time for review and adaptation of the needs of all sectors
A n improved common EU health policy would not only be helpful – as has become more than clear against the background of the current pandemic – but is actually…
Damaging trust: is there still a way for a negotiated Brexit?
by Federico Fabbrini, Full Professor of EU Law at Dublin City University and Founding Director of the Brexit Institute, Dublin The withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European…
Europe and the challenge of solidarity in the time of Covid-19
Solidarity between the peoples of Europe is the overarching aim of European integration. Its fundamental treaties refer to it and include it in many of their articles – the preamble…
European inaction produced Moria
The European: Minister Asselborn, you are Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Asylum. You are largely known in Europe as the personality embodying the…
Health in the EU in a post-Covid-19 world
The Covid-19 pandemic has become the generational public health crisis we all feared. A crisis that has changed all aspects of life. Over the past nine months, we have witnessed…
Enhancing nuclear security in Eastern and Central Africa
by Joseph Maina, Head of the EU CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for Eastern and Central Africa (ECA), Nairobi The African continent is now, more than ever before, mo- bilized to…
Strengthening capacities for border detection and management of CBRN substances
by El Hadj Lamine, Head of the EU CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for North Africa and Sahel (NAS), Algiers Nowadays, the world is a small village thanks to the unprec-…
Kuwait’s experience in crisis management
by Major Abdullah M. AlSaleem, Kuwait Fire Service Directorate, Kuwait City Based on science and knowledge, organisations strive to achieve the necessary progress that serves societies and provides them with…
The Regional Radiation Detection Training Centre in Jordan
by Al-Sharif Nasser bin Nasser, Managing Director of the Middle East Scientific Institute for Security (MESIS) and Head of the EU CBRN CoE Middle East Regional Secretariat, Amman The Regional Radiation Detection…
CBRN Medical Emergency Response Training in the Gulf region
by Brigadier General EngineerHussein Ahmed al Harthi, Head of the GCC Regional Secretariat, EU CBRN CoE, Abu Dhabi The EU CBRN Centres of Excellence (EU CBRN CoE) initia-tive in the…
JEYRAN 2019 – a successful CBRN counter-terrorism exercise
A field report from Uzbekistan by Nannette Cazaubon In November 2019, together with Editor-in-Chief Hartmut Bühl, I took a flight to the capital of Uzbekistan in Central Asia. We were invited…
Cross border cooperation exercise “JEYRAN” completed in Uzbekistan
by Otabek Kasimov, Head of Inspectorate on supervision of the implementation of the Convention on Prohibition of Chemical and Bacteriological Weapons, Tashkent Alongside the reforms initiated by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the…
Epidemic preparedness is an investment in our people, our economy, and the future
by Dr Rudi Pauwels, Serial biotech entrepreneur and Founder & President of the Praesens Foundation, Brussels As an organisation devoted to epidemic preparedness, Praesens is committed to supporting the EU…
The African CBRNe Masters – a high level training course
The European: Monsieur Salami, you are the Head of the Re- gional Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade (AAF), one of the eight regions in the CBRN Centres of Excellence initiative…
A decade of CBRN risk mitigation
(Ed/nc) The current global coronavirus crisis has brought biological risks and the necessity to prepare for pandemics to the fore. But the mitigation of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)…
The JRC’s longstanding effort to support the EU CBRN programmes
60 years of scientific experience By Said Abousahl, Head of Unit, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Brussels Established as a Joint Nuclear Research Centre by the Euratom Treaty, the European Commission’s…
Regaining trust: for a more resilient and effective Europe in the face of crises
Europe’s institutions must be able to anticipate and efficiently manage upcoming crises By Natalia Pouzyreff, French member of Parliament and member of the Parliamentary defence committee The Covid-19 pandemic has…
The EU CBRN Centres of Excellence – 10 years of cooperation
A network of networks to support CBRN risk mitigation, including non-proliferation By Tristan Simonart, CBRN risk mitigation, DG DEVCO, European Commission, Brussels Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the European…
For a united, resilient and sovereign Europe
Op-ed on the EU’s reaction to the coronavirus crisis and the lessons learned By Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the…
Common security and the proactive role of the European Union
The EU needs to preserve its unity, sanity and common sense By Tonino Picula MEP, Foreign Policy Coordinator for the S&D Group, European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg It is definitely not an…
International cooperation based on CBRN risk mitigation
By Antonia Marie de Meo, Director of UNICRI, and Marian de Bruijn, Programme Coordinator at UNICRI, Turin In the area of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) risk mitigation, no…
10 points for a Franco-German partnership
The Regional Prefect (ret) Cyrille Schott, Member of the board of EuroDéfense France and the Editor-in-Chief of this magazine, Hartmut Bühl, set out their thoughts on the Franco-German partnership at…
Europe’s strong commitment to international security cooperation
The European: Minister, at the end of Exercise Jeyran in Tashkent in November 2019, you concluded: “Finally we are striving together with the European Union for interregional cooperation in antiterrorism…
A European prize for our magazine!
We are proud to share that on 26th November, our magazine was awarded the Jury’s special prize as part of the European Award for “Citizenship, Security and Defence”. They praised…
Jointly countering chemical and biological terrorism
“Jeyran” field exercise successfully carried out in Uzbekistan Tashkent, 15 November 2019 Today, the Counter-Terrorism Field Exercise “Jeyran” was concluded in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This major three-day event (13-15 November) was…
“What really binds us together is our shared European identity” – The next European elections will be of utmost importance for the EU
Interview with Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg The interview was led by Hartmut Bühl and Nannette Cazaubon “I believe that the next great achievement for the European…
The time is ripe for a Commissioner for Security and Defence – The EU’s security and defence effort cannot substitute the efforts of the nations
by Ioan Mircea Pașcu, Vice-President, European Parliament, Brussels /Strasbourg The deterioration of the security situation around Europe has accompanied the international financial and economic crisis of 2008. The EU has…
Europe needs to face the threats of the 21st century – We need a European army to assure our security in the future
by Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EEP Group, European Parliament, Brussels/ Strasbourg “We must create a European army by 2030, not to replace national armed forces, but to unite…
The way ahead: more Europe to uphold human rights – Strengthening the EU is the only way to fight populism and fascism
by Ana Gomes, MEP (S&D, Portugal), European Parliament, Brussels/Strasbourg After 15 years and three mandates fulfilled as a MEP in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats,…
Effective development aid through coherent and concrete projects – There can be no security without development, nor development without security
Interview with Henriette Geiger, Director, DG DEVCO, EU Commission, Brussels “Our work is driven by the promotion and respect of EU values and principles, such as democracy, the rule of…
Human rights and our common established values are non-negotiable Migration crisis: national egoism versus European values
Interview with Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs/Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Luxembourg The interview was conducted by Editor-in-Chief Hartmut Bühl. ”The instrumentalisation of the debate about migration…
Working together with Africa towards a more stable and prosperous shared neighbourhood
There is a historic opportunity to strengthen our partnership “For too long, the relationship between Europe and Africa was one of dependency, charity or cooperation on an ad-hoc basis.” by…
The Aquarius’ daily work to save people’s lives – SOS MEDITERRANEE’s mission is to restore humantity at sea and on land
Interview with Verena Papke, Director General, SOS MEDITERRANEE Germany, Berlin The interview was conducted by Nannette Cazaubon “We have to understand that people do not run towards something or a…
Our future is Europe – A robust security architecture will only be possible within a European framework
by Wolfgang Hellmich MdB, Chairman of the Defence Committee, German Bundestag, Berlin Beyond differences and geographical boundaries there is a common interest – how Jean Monnet characterised Europe’s diversity. While…
PESCO is not solely an initiative focused on capability projects – The crucial role of the EDA in coordinating the race for capabilities
Interview with Martin Konertz, Director Capabilities, Armament & Technology, EDA, Brussels “PESCO will be successful if it can strike the right security and defence balance between the European and the…
Galileo – a European achievement
A model for the development of future European strategic projects by Patrick Bellouard, President of EuroDéfense France, Paris “This project constitutes a great European achievement; it could be used as…
What are the lessons for today? Did NATO’s intervention in the Balkans work?
Interview with Gerald Knaus, Chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin The Interview was conducted by Editor-in-Chief Hartmut Bühl “The promise that Western Balkan countries may one day join…
Reducing the impact of climate damage
By Bärbel Dieckmann, President of Welthungerhilfe, Bonn “From its years of experience, Welthungerhilfe knows that each euro used before an emergency is four to five times more effective than funds…
The Energy Union: boosting resilience, supporting innovation, empowering people
By Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for the Energy Union, European Commission, Brussels “Our economic future depends on our leadership in the solutions of tomorrow.” There is a proverb saying: if you…
The Under2 Coalition: how climate protection should work
Interview with Franz Untersteller MdL, Minister of Environment, Climate and the Energy Sector of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart The interview was conducted by Editor-in-Chief Hartmut Bühl “Today, consumers can also be energy…
Armed forces and the challenges of climate change
By Greta Nielsen, Advisor, Federal Office of Bundeswehr Infrastructure, Environmental Protection & Services, Bonn “Consequences of climate change, such as shifts in global precipitation patterns, sea level rise or the…
The European Union’s action on climate protection
By Mauro Petriccione, Director-General, DG Climate Action, European Commission, Brussels “Climate change is clearly not a conventional security threat and addressing it will require a comprehensive and integrated approach, across…
Horizon 2020 – chances to reduce CBRNe risks
By Philippe Quevauviller, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Brussels “Policy development and implementation rely on effective interactions among policymakers, research, industry and practitioners in the EU Member States.”…
Protecting EU’s citizens and environment – A new EU legislation is needed for CBRN food and health risks
By Adina-Ioana Vălean MEP, Chair of ENVI Committee, European Parliament, Strasbourg/ Brussels “In the past, the European Parliament has been attaching particular importance to strengthening chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear…
Global stability through the EU’s neighbourhood and enlargement policies: Exporting stability or importing instability – this is the question
By Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Brussels “Europe’s prosperity and security cannot be entirely separated from that of its neighbours.” We live in uncertain times.…
Telecommunications need protection
By Dr Christoph Erdmann, Managing Director of Secusmart, Düsseldorf Terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and war – security is the defining issue of our time. It is a huge challenge for…
Strength in partnership
By Maj Gen (ret) Koen Gijsbers, General Manager, NATO Communications and Information Agency, Brussels “The decision to recognise cyber as an operational domain alongside the existing environmental domains of land,…
Cooperation in cyber is a must
By Peter Round, Managing Director of PKR Solutions, Bedale Divide and rule is an old principle and we don’t have to look farto find leaders using the principle. We are…
A European strategy to counter cybercrime
By Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, The Hague “As cybercriminals are constantly changing the rules of the game, complementarity, flexibility and innovation are paramount to the successful implementation of the…
No successful digitalisation without cybersecurity
By Arne Schönbohm, President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Bonn “IT security has become one of the central requirements of information and communication technologies.” Powerful and secure…
First GovSat multi-mission satellite launched
On 31 January, the multi-mission satellite GovSat-1 was successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GovSat-1 is the first satellite…
13th Security Union Progress Report
On 24 January, the European Commission reported on the progress made towards an effective and genuine Security Union, including priorities such as countering radicalisation, enhancing cybersecurity and protecting public spaces.…
Merkel and Macron promise a new Elysée Treaty
55 years ago, on 22 January 1963, Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer signed the Elysée Treaty aimed at achieving reconciliation between France and the Federal Republic of Germany. French…