The Role of the EU in Arctic Security

Arguably, the Arctic region has always been an area of interest to the world’s countries. Despite its location and harsh arctic climate, the region opens opportunities for exploring new territories, trading routes, rich natural resources, and raw materials. According to the research on Arctic warming, by 2040, the melted ice in some parts of the Arctic will provide a new prospect for commercial shipping, shortening the transit time between Europe, the United States and Asia (Rantanen et al., 2022). Nevertheless, these changes open not only new opportunities for economic development but also threaten the global environment. As a result, the Arctic becomes a playground of conflict of interests of many international actors, creating new challenges to the region’s stability and security. In addition, due to its strategic importance, the region has begun to attract the attention of various actors. Since 2008, the EU has actively shown interest in Arctic issues, trying to strengthen its influence on Arctic affairs and emphasising the importance of its participation in solving the problems of the region to ensure its stability and development. Today’s interests of the EU in the Arctic region include the region’s sustainable development, security concerns, and climate change issues (The EU in the Arctic, 2024).

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From Optimism to Pragmatism: the changing landscape of peace operations and the EU response

In recent days, articles have started to circulate regarding the end of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). It has been reported that the Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs Aimed Moa Fiji has formally requested the United Nations (UN) to end the mission in a letter to the Security Council and to the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Ross & Paravicini 2024; Africanews 2024). This event would reflect a broader trend of growing scepticism and distrust towards peacekeeping missions, as well as a shift towards “pragmatic peacekeeping”, characterized by smaller mandates focused on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency and by the prioritization of conflict containment(Karlsrud, 2023). Other examples of this tendency are the conclusion of the peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUSCO) in 2024 and the expulsion of peacekeepers from Mali (MINUSMA) in December 2023.

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Securing Europe: France’s Defence Strategy Amidst Rising European Industry Growth and Defence Readiness

In the past years, the Mediterranean Sea has become a theatre of both tragedy and lifesaving efforts, as the ongoing migration crisis has prompted a surge in sea rescue operations. Amidst this complex landscape, the Iuventa case stands out as a pivotal case study, representing the challenges faced by humanitarian NGOs engaged in saving lives at sea. This paper explores the legal framework governing sea rescue operations and analyses the legal intricacies and landmark decision of the Iuventa trial before the Italian Court.

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The Letta Report: Suggestions for European Defence

On 29 April 2024, the Italian Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu met at the military camp Raffalli in Calvi, Corsica, to sign a Letter of Intent boosting military cooperation between their respective land forces. The two Ministers signed the Letter as part of their commitment to enhance Europe’s defence posture by integrating industrial bases. This partnership allows French and Italian defence companies to share their financial, personnel and technological expertise and build more competitive industrial centres in the domain of Land Forces. By harmonising their standards, equipment, procedures and training protocols during joint operations and missions, the two countries will enhance the effectiveness of Europe’s ground defence capabilities (Ministère des Armées, 2024).

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Climate Justice and its implications on the EU Defence System: a legal analysis

The effects of climate change have become a solid reality that cannot be ignored for human life on Earth. Europe's shifting climate landscape sees a surge in legal battles, highlighting the deepening understanding of the link between environmental well-being and human rights.  This paper analyses the legal framework of so-called climate litigation, where organisations and interest groups litigate a lack of climate action on the part of governments, and its implications for and application to the Defence and Security sector. Indeed, due to the increasing number of legal challenges against governments and institutions for their inaction on climate change, there has been a growing awareness of their role in protecting citizens from increasingly frequent climate events. This awareness has impacted all areas of public governance, including defence. In fact, even the defence sector, faced with this worrying reality, has had to change itself and its practices to comply with the legal framework, which is composed not only of laws but also of judgments that are increasingly openly determining how the state and institutions have a duty to protect their citizens, through comprehensive action, from the reality of climate change.

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