After much wait and debate, on 19 April, the Council of the European Union has approved a set of conclusions to establish its new Sahel strategy.
A new era for the British Armed Forces is about to begin. On 22 March, the Government of the United Kingdom officially released its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, which will define the government’s vision for the UK’s role in the world over the next decade.
In the wake of the European Council's discussion on the 26th of February regarding the future of EU security and defence, a decisive juncture to assess the stature of EU defence cooperation lies ahead. The EU pledges to deliver a collective answer to a fast-changing strategic environment and maintain momentum on its defence initiatives. Among its initiatives, the European Defence Fund (EDF) aims to boost joint research and innovation in defence and stimulate Member States industrial bases to develop common military capabilities. The EDF has officially come into effect with the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, empowered with a total budget of € 8 billion; thus, it is time to demonstrate its potential.
The diffusion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones have registered an exponential increase in recent years. Beyond military UAVs, it is cheap and easy to buy small commercial drones that are easily controlled with a smartphone or remote control. One consequence stemming from this comes in the form of the challenge they pose to security, and the measures which must now be taken to protect sensitive locations and events.
The year 2020, was an eye-opening year for defence matters, which may provide certain lessons when comparing the defence budgets of 2020-2021, to pre-pandemic defence budgets. This Info Flash will look at the evolution of recent budgets and the possible implications an atypical year like 2020 might have on such budgets throughout Europe.
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