EU Common Security & Defence Policy (CSDP)

EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK

Czechia at the turn of 2023: New Leadership, New Dilemmas

When taking over from the French on 1 July 2022, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union prioritised several key areas, all connected with the EU response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its consequences for the block. At the core of the Czech thinking were the issues stemming from energy security and defence policy, as well as resilient institutions and the wave of refugees. These priorities were best manifested in the Czech and European leadership, particularly in Eastern Europe.

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Command and Control for the CSDP. A Permanent Operation Headquarters for the EU?

There is broad agreement that the European states should do more for their own security and defence, but little consensus on how to achieve this goal, or on what role strategic autonomy may have in delivering it. In the EU, perhaps the most likely framework for creating the necessary capacity, the Member States have signed up to a higher level of military ambition, but their employment of military force through the Common Security and Defence Policy has remained modest.

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Who Needs a European Army?

The French call it l’Europe de la Défence. At first glance this seems to suggest, at least to non-French observers, a concept based on the complementarity and synergy of NATO’s military muscle and hard security guarantees, and the economic might and soft power (and capacity for resilience) provided by the European Union.

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Eastern Partnership and European Security

On 8-10 October, ICDS Head of Studies and Research Fellow Tomas Jermalavičius attended the high-level seminar “Eastern Partnership and European Security: Enhanced Cooperation to Overcome Common Challenges” which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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