The
European Union Institute for Security Studies (
EUISS) is a Paris-based EU agency of the
Common Foreign and Security PolicyThe Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas...
(CFSP). Its goals are to find a common
security cultureA security culture is a set of customs shared by a community whose members may engage in illegal or sensitive activities, the practice of which minimizes the risks of such activities being subverted, or targeted for sabotage...
for the EU, to help develop and project the CFSP, and to enrich Europe’s strategic debate.
The EUISS is an autonomous agency with full intellectual freedom. As a think tank it researches security issues of relevance for the EU and provides a forum for debate. In its capacity as an EU agency, it also offers analyses to
High RepresentativeThe High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is the main co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy within the European Union...
Catherine Ashton.
Alvaro de VasconcelosÁlvaro de Vasconcelos has been Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies since May 2007.-Career:Prior to this, he headed the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Lisbon, of which he is a co-founder, from 1981 to 2007 where he launched several networks including...
of Portugal has been the EUISS’s Director since 1 May 2007.
EUISS is a network partner of the
European Security and Defence CollegeThe European Security and Defence College is a virtual institution for strategic level training within the area of Common Security and Defence Policy...
.
Research
The EUISS researches topics related to the
Common Foreign and Security PolicyThe Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas...
(CFSP), including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The Institute covers EU relations with the US, the Western Balkans, Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East/Gulf, Russia, the Eastern neighbourhood and Asia, as well as the thematic areas of
counter-terrorismCounter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
,
disarmamentDisarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
and non-proliferation, conflict prevention and
crisis managementCrisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. The study of crisis management originated with the large scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980's.Shrivastava, P....
,
development-Land use:*Green development, a concept that includes consideration of community-wide or regional environmental implications*Land development, altering the landscape in any number of ways...
and
governanceGovernance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
, and EU enlargement.
Publications
The Institute's flagship publication is its monograph series of
Chaillot PapersChaillot Papers are monographic publications of various topics issued by the European Union Institute for Security Studies . They are written by the EUISS researchers or by external authors commissioned by the EUISS...
. Written by external experts as well as the Institute’s research fellows, and based on collective work or individual research, they deal with all subjects of relevance to the Union’s security. The Institute also publishes Occasional Papers, books, reports, and shorter policy briefs and analyses.
History
The EUISS was established by the Council Joint Action of 20 July 2001 (since revised by Council Joint Action of 21 December 2006) as a replacement to the
Western European UnionThe Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
Institute for Security Studies (established in July 1990). It was inaugurated on 1 January 2002.
External links