Read more about the article Controversies around the EU-funded Senegalese security forces
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Controversies around the EU-funded Senegalese security forces

On 29 February 2024, EU-funded Senegalese security forces violently suppressed pro- democracy protests (Nielsen, 2024). Controversy ensued as the Groupes d’Action Rapide – Surveillance et Intervention au Sahel (GAR-SI Sahel) security forces, initially trained to combat cross-border crime along Senegal’s border with Mali, were being utilised for domestic purposes (Popoviciu & Bautista, 2024).

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19 March 2024
Read more about the article EU’s presence in the Arctic
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EU’s presence in the Arctic

The EU presence in the Arctic region is acquiring decisive importance in terms of security and defence, especially since the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war. However, not only geopolitical rivalries are an important change, but also the opportunism of the effect of global warming and the increase in commercial interest in natural resources. The joint communication of 2021, October 13, A stronger EU engagement for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic, proposed that the EU pursue a secure, stable, sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous Arctic region. There is a need to adopt a strengthened maritime security policy, especially in the areas of economic development, free trade, transport, and energy security.

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5 March 2024
Read more about the article EU Mission Aspides to Secure Trade in the Red Sea: An Opportunity for Decisive EU Foreign Policy and Interoperability or Doomed to Failure?
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EU Mission Aspides to Secure Trade in the Red Sea: An Opportunity for Decisive EU Foreign Policy and Interoperability or Doomed to Failure?

The military conflict that broke out in Gaza in October 2023 spread when, out of self-proclaimed solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (BBC, 2024), the Yemenite Shia Islamist Houthis began attacking civilian merchant ships in the Red Sea at the end of 2023. Due to Yemen's geopolitically significant location at the entrance to the Red Sea, the attacks led to a massive decline in trade through the corridor, which is of crucial importance for Europe. The US responded decisively in December 2023 with the naval mission Operation Prosperity Guardian, however, in contrast, the EU's own response, designated Operation Eunavfor Aspides, was slow to get off the ground. Notwithstanding, now that the EU’s plans have been finalised, this InfoFlash aims to analyse the EU mission with regard to its operational realisation, its creation and mandate, what exactly the EU can achieve through it, and its risks and challenges. Moreover, this InfoFlash will delve into the international consequences of the mission, and how it may shape the perception of the EU on the world stage. In this respect, the mission has the potential to provide a wide array of opportunities to the Union. For instance, the EU could seize the opportunity to demonstrate to the world that it is an internally united global player who is prepared to effectively carry out risky missions in order to fulfil its foreign policy responsibilities by promoting security and stability in the world.

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4 March 2024
Read more about the article EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence
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EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence

In recent years, the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence has assumed paramount importance, driven by shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the imperative to update collective policy approaches. In this context, the enlargement of NATO and the ramifications of the Russo-Ukrainian war pose significant questions (Kolovos, A., 2023). More specifically, these geopolitical shifts underscore the urgent need for a unified defence system against potential common threats. This is an especially complicated task considering that the space domain presents nuanced challenges akin to those of the Arctic, where borders lack the tangible delineation seen in traditional realms of air, land, or maritime boundaries. In this sense, the new approach to space defence and security includes both military considerations and political and legal dimensions.

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28 February 2024
Read more about the article Geopolitical Tightrope in the South Caucasus: EU’s Strategic Interests Amid Escalation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Border
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Geopolitical Tightrope in the South Caucasus: EU’s Strategic Interests Amid Escalation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Border

Azerbaijan, backed by Russia, has made clear that it will not hesitate to use force to open the Zangezur Corridor (also known as Meghri Corridor) through the Armenian territory to its exclave of Nakhchivan and its ‘brother’ Turkey. The attack occurred from Azerbaijani positions within Armenian territory that had been previously invaded. The fact that the incident occurred within the sovereign state borders of Armenia fuels the growing security concerns of the Armenian population, sceptical about the peaceful coexistence alongside Azerbaijan. On 13 February, the Armenian Ministry of Defence released a statement that four soldiers were killed and one was wounded in an Azerbaijani open fire at a post in the southern region of Armenia’s Syunik. In return, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence claimed that Armenian troops fired on the village of Kokhanabi in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz District on the evening of 12 February, injuring one border guard and prompting the launch of a “retaliatory operation” in revenge.

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28 February 2024