Disability and Diversion – Creating a Culture of Inclusion in a Working Environment

To quote James Charlton, the term 'Nothing About Us Without Us' expresses the conviction of people with disabilities that they know what is best for them. This mantra became the rallying call for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and continues to be highly relevant more than ever. But why does it matter?

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Poland on its Way to Become One of the Largest Armed Forces in Europe?

Poland, a country that lies on the eastern flank of the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), is making serious efforts in defence to reorganise and rebuild its armed forces. A new draft law envisages a doubling of troop strength and a significant increase in military expenditure to counter external threats. These plans would enable Poland to become one of the largest armies in the Europe and to achieve strategic autonomy within the EU and NATO. This InfoFlash will look at what drives this new law. It will also explain what the law entails and how the country plans to finance the new plans. Finally, most importantly, what consequences this future "Great Army" could have for Europe.

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Who to choose: The Slovakia Armoured Fighting Vehicle purchase

In 2021, the Slovak government announced its intention to purchase several dozen Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) as part of an ongoing effort to modernise its ground forces (The Slovak Spectator, 2021). This is, of course, a welcome development for the European Union’s (EU) defence, as it increases the resource pool upon which the EU can rely in the pursuit of its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions.

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A bold new frontier: the EU’s venture in space security

The security of outer space has proven to be quite a complex and rapidly evolving policy field, requiring a similarly prompt response from nations around the globe. In the European Union, the problem is compounded by the vertical separation of power between the EU and its Member States, including the principle of conferral, which hinders the creation of a unified policy.

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Innovation in Europe: Prospects for an EDA Defence Innovation Hub

“Let us recognise that we, the European Union and the Member States, need to do much more together, and we need to do much more together right now. We cannot wait, because the choice for us is simple: either we invest a lot on defence innovation, or we will become defence irrelevant” (European Defence Agency, 2021) This year’s European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Annual Conference focus revolved around discussing the EU innovation in European Defence and what more must be done. Upon speaking to a room filled with EU and national decision-makers, military organisations, think tanks, and other relevant stakeholders within the defence industry, our High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the EU and Vice-President, Josep Borrell, recognised that much more needs to be done. Whether the EU manages to take the appropriate steps towards advancing defensive innovation or not shall decide on the relevance or obsoleteness of its armies in the future.

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