Communicating Defence the European Way

Main takeaways:   The future of European defence lays in the hand of a young European thinking generation. Main problem in making EU security and defence policy easily understandable is the fact, that everything in this regard has always to be communicated on behalf of the 27 Member States which partly have rather different approaches to…

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Building a European Strategic Culture: The Pursuit for a New Security and Defence Identity of the EU

Main takeaways:   The EU, and its members, share a basic ‘set of beliefs, values and norms towards the use of military force’ with foundations in the EU’s policies and adherence to international law. There is a difference in nature between the Union’s and member states’ strategic culture. Whereas states develop strategic cultures from historical experiences,…

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Foreign Interference: the European Parliament’s Response

Main takeaways:   Propaganda and disinformation are not new phenomena, but 30 years ago there was not yet technology which allows them to be spread at such speed and with so little transparency. Present-day disinformation and foreign interference present real threats to democratic societies. A strong rules-based EU response is needed to even the playing field…

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Disinformation Threat in Europe

Main takeaways:   The COVID pandemic has sparked an infodemic – a whirlwind of mis- and dis-information, spanning traditional media platforms, social media, and countries across the world. A key component of the infodemic has been the mushrooming of conspiracy theories, which have aided extremist groups and foreign actors in their efforts to undermine democratic governments…

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Humanitarian Affairs and Coordination in International Organizations

Main takeaways:   The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), headquartered in New York, and currently active in twenty countries, coordinates the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in crisis areas. OCHA cannot deliver its mandate without the support of its donors and therefore receives voluntary contributions from a diverse…

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