by Hannah Daly The terror attacks on mainland Europe over the last few years have brought closer attention and criticism to the EU’s current policy on counter-terrorism. The inconclusive policy lacks coherence due to the fact that it is sprawled out amongst a variety of different policy areas with multiple action plans and strategies drawnContinue reading “The development of EU counter-terrorism policy as a result of critical junctures: has it created a volatile long-term policy lacking effectiveness?”
Category Archives: Future of the EU
Ireland and Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in EU Security and Defence
Over the last year Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has been working with member states on a package of measures designed to deepen EU cooperation in security and defence. This has come in response to a number of developments: the threat of state-sponsored hybrid warfare and the undermining of democratic processes,Continue reading “Ireland and Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in EU Security and Defence”
Ireland’s European Security and Defence Questions
While everyone is (understandably) focused on Brexit, there is much more going on in Brussels that needs attention. Near the top of that list has to be plans for closer EU security and defence cooperation. Big decisions are due before December and – as of yet – the arguments have not had much of anContinue reading “Ireland’s European Security and Defence Questions”
The EU Global Strategy and Academia – new avenues for cooperation
On 12 June 2017, I was invited, along with about 70 other academics, foreign and security policy experts, think tank staff and policy makers to a ‘high level’ Jean Monnet thematic seminar on the “EU’s Global Strategy – From Vision to Action”. This was organised by the EU Commission’s DG Education and Culture and theContinue reading “The EU Global Strategy and Academia – new avenues for cooperation”
The State of EU Foreign Policy Scholarship
EU foreign policy scholarship has made an undoubted contribution to our understanding of politics at the global level. First, it has added to our understanding of what EU membership means for member states. The complex and reciprocal relationship between national political systems and a developing European-level polity poses many challenging questions to comparative politics andContinue reading “The State of EU Foreign Policy Scholarship”
Resilience and EU Foreign Policy: The Promise of Justice?
The appearance of ‘resilience’ as a core leitmotif within the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) has been a significant focus of analytical interest in recent months (Wagner and Anholt 2016; Juncos 2016). Featuring several dozen times within the Union’s strategy statement and frequently linked to the broader concept of ‘principled pragmatism’, the concept has come inContinue reading “Resilience and EU Foreign Policy: The Promise of Justice?”
Lessons for the Ukraine crisis from a British television comedy
A 28-year old British television comedy brings us salient lessons for the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. In it, a British Prime Minister is teasing out the implications of nuclear deterrence with his central European-accented scientific advisor. The adviser is pressing the newly installed Prime Minister to clarify the precise circumstances under which he will beContinue reading “Lessons for the Ukraine crisis from a British television comedy”
Defense and the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU
As the Irish European Council presidency draws to a close, all eyes are on the big ticket items the Irish Government pledged to address: substantive progress on economic governance and banking union; jobs, growth and the single market; the MAFF; EU-US free trade; fisheries and agriculture reform and a host of others. Somewhat overlooked hasContinue reading “Defense and the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU”
Enough is enough — it’s time to sanction Hungary
The challenge of managing the EU’s on-going economic crisis has distracted the Union from worrisome political developments within some of its member states. The worst offender here is Hungary, where the government has initiated legislative and constitutional changes and used political rhetoric and symbolic actions that are clearly incompatible with its obligations as an EU member toContinue reading “Enough is enough — it’s time to sanction Hungary”
Does the EU have a German problem?
For many decades, geostrategists commented that Germany was too big to live comfortably with its neighbours but too small to control them. After the Second World War, though, and especially after the creation of the EU and NATO, it appeared that Germany had adjusted its identity, its ambitions and its behaviour to the new realityContinue reading “Does the EU have a German problem?”
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