This report traces the origins of the EU decision to set up battlegroups, describes the underlying political and military concepts and analyses the challenges that the EU and its member states face in realising the Headline goal 2010, the plan adopted by the European defence ministers in June 2004 with the aim of improving European military capabilities. It also discusses the broader question of whether or not a military capability allows the EU to better achieve its goals.
The increased influence of the European Union in world politics has sparked a lively debate on what influence it actually has, its degree of coherence and on the qualities that characterise its behaviour. This report assesses how the EU is perceived by other states in international multilateral negotiations.
This paper looks at the evolution of Britain’s role in Europe in the light of the issues facing the UK Presidency in the second half of 2005.
In 2005 the stability pact of the EU was reformed. The revision followed upon violations of the EU fiscal rules by several countries and the breakdown of the pact’s enforcement mechanism.
The last decades have been characterized by deep regional integration in Europe as well as the emergence of new integration agreements in other parts of the world. This process has spurred an extensive debate about what the economic effects of integration are, both on insiders and outsiders.
The countries in "the class of 2004" are now full-fledged members of the European Union, with equal rights to participate in the policy process shaping its future. This implies a quality leap in their political status.
In discussions on priorities in the European Union, a formula often invoked is that of European added value. The present study seeks to shed light on this concept by tracing its intellectual origins, examining its use in three policy areas and suggesting ways of converting it from an all-purpose mantra into an efficient tool for priority-setting and policy choices.
Published in April 2005, this paper assesses the Luxembourg presidency, with a particular focus on the Stability and Growth pact and the Lisbon Process, two major challenges for the presidency.
This study investigates the nature of the relationship between small states and the European Commission, posing the question whether the Commission is a small state's "best friend". Focusing in particular on the Belgian, Greek, Finnish and Hungarian experience, the key findings indicate that the small state-Commission relationship is not as straightforward as the "best friend" analogy may suggest.