Work towards the objectives is as follows:
Objective 1: We have analysed key dynamics and trends that will shape international relations and security in the decades ahead, as well as their possible impact on the EU’s security and external action, and also mapped scenarios of how the international context will evolve in the short, medium and long term. We have completed mapping and analysing the foreign policies of EU Member States (MS) and key areas of global governance. The project has also explored the extent to which the EU’s capacity to act in the world is affected by the (un)acceptability of EU external action to MS. We have provided empirical analysis focusing on national and European parliamentary perceptions as well as national policymaking elites, and using big data-based analysis to understand citizens’ perceptions related to the EU’s external action. The research indicates more acceptability than usually thought for EU CSDP operations among national parliamentarians, and support by citizens as well. A study of national policymaking elites shows support for more rapid and flexible decision-making, and for activating unused/underused legal bases in EU treaties.
Objective 2: Working papers have focused on assessing the legal base and governance structures of CSDP, CFSP and External Action Plus. They have provided ground rules to address the boundaries of enhancing the functioning of these areas and revealed legal possibilities for enhancing decision-making procedures, including by identifying unused/underused possibilities in the existing legal framework. We have devised a framework to enable consistent and high-quality evaluation of defence cooperation in the EU and among EU MS and assessment criteria for security and intelligence cooperation in the EU; and a series of case studies assessing the effectiveness, coherence and sustainability of current governance structures and policy processes of the CSDP and the CFSP has also begun. We have also developed an analytical framework to explore the internal and external factors that facilitate or obstruct linkages among external action plus policies and applying it to the areas of trade, development, and humanitarian aid, which is now being used to analyse a series of case studies on EU external action ‘plus’ policies – namely, competition, climate change and health.
Objective 3: Our research has examined the ways in which the EU can more effectively achieve a set of key goals. We focus on the EU’s engagement with strategic partners, and have put forward a theoretical and conceptual definition of strategic partnership and assessed the EU’s engagement with strategic partners. This is supported by case studies on EU and MS engagement with third countries and with strategic international organisations. We also look at the EU’s engagement with its neighbourhood and has analysed strategic framings of “neighbours” and “neighbourhood” through an investigation of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Finally, we tackle issues on conflict resolution, prevention and mediation, starting by producing an analytical framework to study the EU’s engagement in these areas.
Objective 4: Translating research into practitioner-oriented insights is our aim here. A first set of recommendations focuses on the acceptability of EU efforts in defence and security in the national parliaments of MS and among the public. A second set of takeaways is related to structural changes in the EU’s external environment, while a third set zooms in on the legal bases and decision-making mechanisms of the EU’s external action. A fourth set covers various tools, policies and strategies of the EU’s external action.
Objective 5: ENGAGE practitioner-oriented briefs have contributed to this objective by translating the results of the research into actionable insights of interest to policymakers and key stakeholders. To increase policy impact, we have also begun building up networks of contacts across the EU institutions and in the foreign ministries of the MS, and participating in various academic and practitioner-oriented events to promote ENGAGE research and preliminary ideas for the White Paper. High-level lectures, webinars, and blogs have reached a wide audience of national and EU stakeholders.
