Read more about the article The Role of the EU in Arctic Security
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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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17 July 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?
Info Flash

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