Defence and security Archives

“Europe’s security, and that of Spain, depend on security in the Sahel," said the EU Special Representative for the Sahel, Ángel Losada. EURACTIV’s partner Euroefe reports.

US President Donald Trump has raised the stakes for his European allies’ defence spending from 2% to 4% of GDP, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev told a small group of Bulgarian journalists at the NATO summit on Wednesday (11 July). 

Russia and Greece were poised on Wednesday (11 July) to expel two of each other's diplomats in a rare dispute that Greek media said had been prompted by the issue of Macedonia, which expects this week to be formally invited to join the NATO alliance.

EU-NATO cooperation is a good framework for bringing Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and others, closer to the Alliance, and improving their security, writes Andreas Marazis.

US President Donald Trump berated fellow NATO members yesterday (9 June) for not contributing enough to the alliance while maintaining a trade surplus with the United States, keeping up a recent drumbeat of criticism before meeting European allies this week in Brussels.

When NATO leaders meet in Brussels this week they should have Georgia on their minds, write Amanda Paul and Ana Andguladze.

EU lawmakers gave approval on Wednesday (4 July) for the European Investment Bank (EIB) to do business in Iran, overcoming a blocking attempt and keeping alive plans to save the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran that Washington has abandoned.

Since his election, US President Donald Trump has been wreaking havoc wherever he goes and his next target is most probably NATO, warns Shada Islam.

Ahead of the NATO July summit in Brussels next week, MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday (July 3) endorsed the creation of a €500 million program aimed at boosting innovation in the European defence industry.

EU leaders pledged in Brussels on Thursday to intensify efforts to strengthen military cooperation within the bloc and reduce its reliance on the United States, amid growing doubts over the continued US involvement in transatlantic security.

EU leaders are meeting on 28-29 June to bash out a solution to the divisive issue of migration, which should help Chancellor Angela Merkel preserve her fragile government, and lay the groundwork for a scaled-down package of eurozone reforms wanted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The June European Council is an opportunity to make sure we have the right measures in place to tackle hostile state threats to security such as cyber attacks, disinformation and meddling in elections, writes Mark Sedwill.

Nine EU nations will on Monday (25 June) formalise a plan to create a European military intervention force, a French minister said, with Britain backing the measure as a way to maintain strong defence ties with the bloc after Brexit.

EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and EU Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel are keeping their eyes wide shut to the Russian disinformation threat, writes Jakub Janda.

The prospect of securing major private-sector investments could offer Iran an incentive to uphold its side of the nuclear agreement despite Washington’s withdrawal. Laura von Daniels argues that a private German Iran Bank could do the trick. Dr. Laura von Daniels …

Enough tears have been shed, egos and emotions shaken and obituaries written about the transatlantic relationship. It is time to move on. So wipe the tears, stop the whining and turn over a new page. The US has embarked on a new journey, and the EU should do the same, writes Shada Islam.

While armed conflicts are on the rise around the world, Paris launched a new strategy for prevention, resilience and sustainable peace in developing countries, on 13 June. EURACTIV.fr reports.

The EU is about to agree a shared military industry fund which will give billions to arms companies and exacerbate the global arms race. Presented as a key step to strengthen the EU, instead, it enshrines renewed prevalence of national interests in a hard-security context, writes Laëtitia Sédou.

Germany's foreign minister called for the European Union to become a more self-confident global actor, prepared to take counter-measures when the United States crosses "red lines" and able to respond to Russian threats and Chinese growth.

The EU wants to pay for military equipment, including lethal weaponry, for partner countries in crisis zones such as Africa's Sahel region as part of a €10.5-billion "peace facility" launched on Wednesday (13 June).

EU countries have been encouraged to name and shame foreign states that sponsor cybersecurity attacks, in an unusually outspoken announcement from the European Commission.

On the same day, 12 June 2018, anti-system politicians in two wildly different spots of the globe did their best to solve the world’s most complicated conundrums.

Macedonia and Greece yesterday (12 June) resolved a nearly three-decade row by agreeing to the name Republic of North Macedonia, opening the road for the landlocked country to start EU accession talks and to join NATO. Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev …