Global økonomi

Economics and Security in China

The EU, Russia and Ukraine: a double track with no end?

Post-Soviet Trade, Russia's Far East and the Shift to Asia

Norway and the BRICS (III): Trade, Ivestments and Opportunities

How Do Little Frogs Fly? Small States in the European Union

Small EU member states need to exploit the special characteristics of their small public administrations in order to secure their interests and have influence within the Union. They must develop an administrative competence based on features like informality, flexibility, and the autonomy of officials operating according to guidelines rather than fixed negotiating instructions. They also need to acknowledge their limitations, and set priorities to a much greater extent than the large states. A strategy based on these features, combined with a positive image and political willingness, can bring negotiating success within the EU’s decision-making processes.

We Saw it Coming: Jihadist Terrorism, Challenges for the European Union

Nothing about the recent Paris or Copenhagen terrorist attacks was totally unexpected. Indeed, they were the sort of thing that security apparatuses in Europe had been preparing to have to deal with. Although security responses to terrorism are traditionally considered a quintessential national sovereignty prerogative, in the past ten to fifteen years the recognition that highly asymmetric security threats respect no borders has heightened the EU’s role as a coordinator in this policy domain. Some claim that counter-terrorism has changed the role and functioning of the EU itself towards a more operational character in security matters. Both old and new security responses to terrorism have (re-)emerged on the agenda of the EU and its member states in the ‘post-Paris attacks’ phase.