Read more about the article The geopolitical importance of Cyprus: Turkish and British military presence on EU territory
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The geopolitical importance of Cyprus: Turkish and British military presence on EU territory

The Republic of Cyprus holds a sensitive position within the European Union, facing compromised sovereignty due to ongoing military occupation and foreign control. Since accession to the EU in 2004, the entirety of the island is EU territory, though EU law remains suspended in those areas where the Republic of Cyprus has no effective control. The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Türkiye, operates outside the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union, creating a legal and political anomaly. Brexit further complicates cohesion, as the British Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia remain under UK sovereignty and serve both British and US military interests. Cyprus remains the only EU Member State hosting non-EU military operations. The situation in Cyprus challenges EU sovereignty, regional security, and implementation of EU law. The presence of non-EU military on EU territory without effective EU control can exacerbate the precarious situation of Cyprus, leaving the island vulnerable to the geopolitical developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

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18 August 2025
Read more about the article Rethinking European Defence: The European Defence Mechanism Proposal
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Rethinking European Defence: The European Defence Mechanism Proposal

On 12 April 2025, the European Union (EU) finance ministers, joined by their counterparts from the UK, Norway, and Switzerland, expressed their support for a joint defence fund aimed at collectively purchasing and owning military equipment. The initiative would bring together EU and selected non-EU countries to streamline defence spending and enhance coordination (Strupczewski & Badohal, 2025). This proposal originates from a report by the Bruegel think tank, commissioned by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Its premise is the urgent need for the EU to achieve strategic autonomy, reversing decades of economic dependencies and fragmented strategic planning. This is deemed essential to effectively respond to contemporary threats, chief among them, a potential attack from Russia (Bortoletto, 2025; Wolff et al., 2025), following the diminishing reliability of the United States as Europe's primary security guarantor.

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14 May 2025
Read more about the article Poland and The United Kingdom: An Increasingly Robust Partnership
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Poland and The United Kingdom: An Increasingly Robust Partnership

The UK and Poland have what is currently being described as one of the closest partnerships within NATO (GOV.UK, 2022; Martin, 2023). This research paper will examine how this relationship has developed, with a special interest in the signing of the 2017 Treaty on Defence and Security Cooperation. The 2017 Treaty encouraged cooperation between the UK and Poland in a range of areas, including multiple agreements on exchanging military equipment and training of troops. These agreements became even more relevant, and arguably essential in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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25 July 2023
Read more about the article The United Kingdom and Drone Swarming: The Future of Aerial Warfare
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The United Kingdom and Drone Swarming: The Future of Aerial Warfare

From 13 to 14 July 2022, London hosted the Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference, where British Air Chief Marshall Sir Mike Wigston announced that the Royal Air Force had successfully conducted the testing of drone swarms with the purpose of striking air enemy defences: “Our swarming drone trials point to the enormous operational potential for these systems to confuse and overwhelm an adversary’s air defences. In the last three years, 216 Test and Evaluation Sqn, alongside the Rapid Capabilities Office, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and industry will have trialled five drone types in thirteen trials of new payloads, new platforms, and new control systems. We are exploring new models of capability delivery and accelerated production “when we need them” rather than “in case we need them” from the twin jet 3D-printed Pizookie, to commercially available large drones fitted with novel payloads, to large quadcopters.”

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12 August 2022