Written by: Arjun Jayaraman Supervised by: Elise Alsteens and Kevin Whitehead Edited by: Jackson Elder Abstract: Positioning, Navigation, Timing (PNT) and sensing are crucial for fighting wars. However, problems are on…
Written by: Clara Torregrosa Basco Supervised by: Giustiniano Cesare Vasey Edited by: Theodora Posta Abstract: For decades, scientists have been warning about the impending existential planetary emergency to no avail. Transnational challenges,…
Written by: Rodrigo Andrade Santos Supervised by: Elise Alsteens Edited by: Theodora Posta Abstract: The Russo-Ukrainian war has transformed Russia’s isolation into a network of pragmatic defence partnerships with China,…
Since the end of European missions in the Western Sahel and the military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the security situation in the region has deteriorated significantly. Jihadists and other insurgents have gained ground, while the regimes are being kept from total collapse by the newfound influence and military presence of Russia and its new strategic ambitions through the Russian Africa Corps. The disastrous security situation in the Western Sahel and instability in West Africa threatens European Security. This threat is worsened by the presence of Russia and other hostile powers. European countries must find new, improved, and pragmatic ways to engage with the region again.
This research explores the European Commission’s White Paper Readiness 2030 and the ReArm Europe Plan within the broader legal and institutional framework of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It examines the Plan’s potential to foster integration in the defence sector through an €800 billion investment, while addressing legal, political and budgetary constraints. Particular attention is given to the legal framework of the EU’s external actions, the budgetary architecture of the ReArm plan and the financing restrictions imposed by Article 41(2) TEU, highlighting the shortcomings and the limits of the competences of the Union in the external actions field and how those impede the creation of a credible, common Defence Union.
