Raising awareness of both existing and emerging foreign and security policy challenges facing the European Union, EUISS Briefs provide key information in a concise, focused format. 

  • Europe's energy crisis conundrum

    The energy crisis that engulfed Europe in 2021 continues to be a major source of concern. This Brief looks at the causes of the crisis, analyses its impacts and proposes strategic responses to enhance the EU’s resilience to energy market volatility as it pursues its ambitious...

  • What if Africa stops receiving foreign aid?

    Addressing the possibility of declining investments and donor fatigue as a result of Covid-19, the third Brief in the Imagine Africa series explores what would happen if, for the first time in more than 60 years, Africa stops receiving development assistance and foreign...

  • Reaping Africa’s demographic dividend

    This Brief analyses Africa’s biggest resource: its youth. A boom in the continent’s young population is driving rapid population growth. Depending on how future trends play out, this could result in either a demographic dividend or a demographic time-bomb.

  • Compliant or complicit? Security implications of the art market

    The traditionally secretive and unregulated nature of the art market makes it uniquely exposed to financial crime and the trafficking of cultural artefacts. This Brief examines how organised crime groups take advantage of the inherent opacity of the art market to fund their...

  • China's data strategy

    In the past two years the Chinese government, which has long pursued a security-centred approach to data, has been defining its own data governance regime. This Brief aims to shed light on China’s approach to data governance and outlines the challenges that it presents for EU...

  • Arab youth futures

    A survey conducted among young people in the Middle East early in 2021 probed how this generation feels about the future. The results belie the perception that young people in the region are pessimistic or fatalistic, instead highlighting a relative optimism, and concerns over...

  • Melting ice, frozen heart

    As global warming and the need for a decarbonisation strategy have risen to the top of the EU’s agenda, fighting climate change has emerged as one of the prospective areas for cooperation with Russia. This Brief shows that despite the detrimental effects of climate change in...

  • Green digital diplomacy

    The environmental impact of digital consumption and new technologies calls for globally sustainable data practices. This Brief argues that embracing ‘green digital diplomacy’ represents a strategic opportunity for the EU’s foreign and security policy to exercise influence in an...