Foreign and Security Policy

The EU’s southern flank has been under immense security pressure by external actors recently. These security challenges require the EU to adopt a holistic approach and address a range of complex regional issues, making use of a wide range of tools.

President Macron has been promoting the concept of European sovereignty and strategic autonomy for quite some time. His vision of a strategically autonomous Europe is based on the premise of profound geopolitical shifts and a new reality of big power rivalries. Still, Paris will have to convince skeptical EU Member States about the soundness of this concept.

Hopes about a new thaw in transatlantic relations might evaporate soon. With respect to its key ally in Europe, the US is not only expecting an increase in German defense spending, but also a realignment of Berlin's China policy. 

The stamina of women who actively care for their relatives who have been missing for years inspired Rasa Ostrauskaite in her work for a more sustainable missing persons process in Iraq.

Nomarussia Bonase devotes all her energy to the fight for justice. The portrait of a peacemaker.

Netta Loevy is an uncompromising lawyer of discriminated women in Israel, prefers to be called an activist. She and her colleagues at the NGO Itach-Maaki are improving lives of women and are promoting the agenda of Women, Peace and Security.

The participation of women in political events was a real battle that they paid for dearly, not only as political players but as women as well - A portrait of Mozn Hassan a feminist and human rights activist.

It’s even hard to imagine that in the 21st century, I’m so far the only woman who led a negotiating party and has signed a (peace) agreement. A portrait of Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.

As one of the rare women to have held the rank of Colonel in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Munyole Sikudjuwa Honorine has dedicated her life to fighting sexual violence. Currently posted to Bunia in Ituri province, the life of this policewoman has always been punctuated by journeys into conflict zones.

In the Balkans, the implementation of adopted laws is a burning issue, with human rights violations and institutional discrimination still happening. The fighter for women's rights Maja Raičević.