On 29 March, the European External Action Service (EEAS), in close cooperation with the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), held a consultation meeting with several think-tanks and NGOs on the subject of resilience.
Resilience is one of the guiding concepts in the EU Global Strategy; therefore the European Commission and the EEAS will publish a Joint Communication on Resilience as a strategic priority of the EU’s external policy in May 2017. This JC will outline how the EU institutions can work together with the concept of strengthening the effectiveness and sustainability of the EU’s development, humanitarian, security, climate and environmental, and governance work in third countries. It will also examine how EU external policy can help identify and address pressures that may test the resilience of states and societies within the EU. This consultation meeting held with various think-tanks brought together experts from prominent organisations, such as the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), Center for European Reform (CER), Clingendael Institute, Egmont Institute, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), International Crisis Group (ICG), Swedish Institute of International Affairs, and others. ICDS was represented at the meeting by its Head of Studies, Tomas Jermalavičius.
Having established a track record of expertise in resilience through publications on societal resilience dating back to 2012, ICDS has recently formulated a distinct research programme, Security & Resilience, which encompasses research activities in such areas as cyber security, energy security, counter-terrorism, strategic communication, and other asepcts of broad-based national resilience. One of the flagship projects of the programme, Resilient Ukraine, received funding the development assistance programme of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and addresses the role of civil society and volunteer organisations in national security and defence of Ukraine. Through the Security & Resilience research programme, ICDS aims to continue its efforts to develop the concept of resilience, operationalise it and generate evidence-based recommendations for the policy stakeholders in Estonia, EU institutions, and partner countries.