Making Europe safer

Our planet's security is being undermined in a number of ways, ranging from climate change and migration to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The EU has initiated a number of projects that investigate man-made and security threats in order to mitigate hazards and ensure the safety of its citizens. One of these initiatives was the EU-funded project EU-GRASP (Changing multilateralism: The EU as a global-regional actor in security and peace).

The project analysed security issues through case studies and outlined scenarios for future EU policy on external security relations. It assessed security concepts, aiming to bridge the gap between security theory and governance in an EU context.

One central objective was to build a comparative and sophisticated methodology that transcends the traditional notion of security. Another was to map bilateral, regional and global cooperation that the EU is involved in. Work in these two directions yielded more robust and comprehensive research, including 23 case studies on 6 security issues selected by EU-GRASP. The topics involved regional conflict, terrorism, WMD proliferation, energy security in light of climate change, severe human rights violations and migration.

Also noteworthy was the foresight exercise that identified key variables likely to affect future multilateral security governance. This included a workshop to identify probable future scenarios, and a workshop for EU policymakers to outline security and policy implications for each scenario.

An interesting and very relevant finding regarding security was the role of social media in political instability, such as during the Arab Spring. The project team pointed out how social media and blogs play a vital role in social communities and civil society, implying that top-down communication is losing much of its credibility. This has great bearing on the making of nations and the breaking of dictatorships, and it is rapidly reshaping the world around us.

Overall, the project organised 23 events and released 134 publications on the topic, including 12 policy briefs, 30 working papers, 6 upcoming books and many peer-reviewed journal articles. The findings of EU-GRASP will support EU decisionmaking and its role in security governance, helping the bloc to refine its security strategy and promote safety. Europe's quest to be a safer and more stable continent for its citizens has just come one step closer to being realised.