Migrated from the TFF legacy site archive.
EU Conflict Management
Foreign and security policy, militarisation – and the alternatives since 2001
The European is an emerging world power, predominantly in economic terms. At the same time it is a more or less openly stated goal that the EU will also become stronger in military terms and develop a capacity to intervene far away from its own region. It must be remembered that the main aim of the EU, as stated in its draft treaty, is peace. We find it important, therefore, to monitor the Union’s development, political decisions and overall philosophy and ask, Does the EU, in words and deeds, really promote peace – or are we witnessing the emergence of a new superpower built on outdated Realpolitik notions of security and conflict-resolution? And, furthermore, are there issues that EU policies tend to ignore such as nonviolence and reconciliation? In short,what are the alternatives we should seek to promote?
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TFF Videoteque European Union
2011
Richard Falk, November 17, 2011 Turkey’s brilliant statecraft: The achievements of Ahmet Davutoglu
Richard Falk with Hilal Elver, June 14, 2011 Interpreting the AKP victory in Turkey’s elections
Jan Oberg, June 13, 2011 NATO at the crossroads after Gates’ speech Comments to Associated Press
Richard Falk with Hilal Elver, June 10, 2011 Turkey’s June 12 elections and Eurocentrism
Jan Oberg, April 28, 2011 Conversation about the situation in Libya and other Middle East – on TV Europe
2010
Johan Galtung, April 6, 2010 A world of regions and the EU role?
Michel Chossudovsky, February 21, 2010 Europe’s 5 un-declared nuclear weapons states Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. To be used against whom?
2009
Jonathan Power, December 2, 2009 Why not Turkey in the EU?
Jan Oberg, EUObserver.com, January 13, 2009 With EU ‘peace’-making into 2009 Most likely we will see more chaos and divisive action in the EU in 2009. One only has to look at the bloc’s reaction to the current Middle East conflict.
2008
Gudrun Schyman, Aftonbladet 16:e augusti 2008 Våga tala om EU ! Om tio månader är det val till EU-parlamentet, men ingen partiledare säger ett ord om EU, trots att de är hängivna EU-anhängare. Vad är de rädda för? Att kraven på folkomröstning om fördraget plötsligt ska blossa upp på samma sätt som kritiken kring FRA-lagen?
Jan Oberg, February 29, 2008 Can the EU become a peace-maker in the world? In Kosovo? A critique of the Union’s policy vis-a-vis Kosovo and Serbia and mention of Francesco Marelli’s vision on a sort of Ministry of Peace for the EU – and an alternative European Security Strategy.
Francesco Marelli, February 21, 2008 Proposal for a Different European Security Strategy An alternative text to Javier Solana’s Paper from the European Peace University, EPU, in Austria. Supervisor Jan Oberg. Pdf format, 18 pages
Francesco Marelli, February 21, 2008 Proposal for an EU Commissariat for Peace and Conflict Transformation Turning 50, the EU can reinvent itself as a force for peace. Thesis for an MA degree in peace and conflict studies at the European Peace University. Supervised by TFF’s Biljana Vankovska and Jan Oberg. Pdf format, 48 pages
Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch, February 16, 2008 EU police and military intervention to enforce secession from Serbia
2007
Jan Oberg, OneWorld US, March 2007 Putting Europe to the peace test Isn’t it strange that there is not a word about disarmament, nuclear abolition (the EU is a nuclear-based union), nonviolence, reconciliation, no peace-making philosophy or any serious adherence to the UN Charter in the proposed EU Treaty?
2006
Jan Oberg, TFF director, October 6, 2006 Does the European Union Promote Peace? Analysis, Critique and Alternatives. A new booklet by TFF’s director. One of the very few systematic analyses of the often-stated claim that the EU is an actor for peace. While it may not be completely false, the EU peace capabilities leaves very much to be desired. Intellectually and morally its proposed Constitution is a great step backwards compared with the 60 year old UN Charter.Read more here. (Free download of PDF. Please make your honour payment here). Dansk udgave. Svensk sammanfattning.
Biljana Vankovska, June 26, 2006 The ageing EU Lady’s hormonal problems: Human Security for chameleons An impassioned discussion of the EU (Venus) and US (Mars), the militarization fo the EU disguised as ‘human security’ and what could be in it – if anything – for Macedonia and other Balkans countries. Since governments can’t and won’t, we better create human security ourselves, warns the author.
Jan Øberg Ny bog om EU Fremmer EU freden? Jan Øberg’s "Fremmer EU freden – Analyse, kritik og alternativer" udkom den 4. august 2005. Traktatforslaget er ikke halvt så visionært som den nu 60 år gamle FN-pagt. At EU er et fredsprojekt er en myte, også selvom unionen ikke er en ny militaristisk supermagt. Se her hvorfor! Endvidere 25 forslag til hvorledes EU skulle kunne blive en freds-union. Se bogens indhold og konklusioner og hvordan du downloader den.
TFF PressInfo 231, December 9, 2005 Is the European Union pro-peace? Read the Constitution/Treaty text and you are in for a surprise! Contrary to what you have heard repeatedly, there is no hope for real conflict-resolution and peace there. In this field, the EU is more in need of reform than the United Nations. This PressInfo also includes information about TFF’s work concerning the EU, not the least Johan Galtung’s analysis and Erni & Ola Friholt’s constructive re-formulations of the Treaty. By Jan Oberg.
Erni & Ola Friholt, December 3, 2005 We want an EU Constitution for the 21st Century, not for the 20th! A scathing criticism of the existing Treaty text but – in the best TFF style – full of ideas about what it ought to state. And the authors deliver the concrete text proposals too. Highly educational and relevant because the present text will be implemented to a large extent also without referendums. In Swedish too.
Jan Øbergs bog om EU Fremmer EU freden? Jan Øberg’s "Fremmer EU freden – Analyse, kritik og alternativer" udkom den 4. august 2005. Traktatforslaget er ikke halvt så visionært som den nu 60 år gamle FN-pagt. At EU er et fredsprojekt er en myte, også selvom unionen ikke er en ny militaristisk supermagt. Se her hvorfor! Endvidere 25 forslag til hvorledes EU skulle kunne blive en freds-union. Se bogens indhold og konklusioner og hvordan du downloader den.
Erni & Ola Friholt, 10 februari, 2005 Vi vill ha en EU konstitution för vår tid och för fred ! Öppet brev till Statsrådsberedningen med en rad konstruktiva förslag till omskrivningar av det existerande förslaget och helt nya avsnitt.
Archive All postings 2001-2005
Features
Quality articles – thought-provoking, informative, or "different"- written by people who are not TFF Associates. We recommend and share them with our readers.
TFF Associates – experts on EU conflict management
Christian Hårleman Erni & Ola Friholt Per Gahrton Maj Britt Theorin Gunnar Westberg Johan Galtung Ken Coates Trine Pertou Mach Håkan Wiberg Ulf Svensson Jan Oberg
TFF Videoteque European Union
Links & resources
EU organisations
About the the EU on Wikipedia (Online Encyclopedia)
Activities of the European Union Foreign and Security Policy
The Treaty of Lisbon December 13, 2007
The European Convention
Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
The European Union Online
Council of the European Union
EU – Common Foreign and Security Policy
CFSP – Common Foreign & Security Policy – An overview (EU External Relations)
External Relations – The European Commission
EU Institute for Security Studies and here
EU Council News, Press & Documents
The European Commission
The European Parliament
Western European Union
Western European Armaments Group – WEAG
The Treaty of Rome (1957)
Documents on defence and security
There are several sources:
1. – 2. – 3. – 4. – 5. – 6.
A Secure Europe in a better world. The European Security Strategy by Javier Solana. December 12, 2003
The European Convention
The Maastricht Treaty (1992)
Helsinki 12.99 EU Council, Common European Policy on Security and Defence
Cologne EU Council 3 – 4 June 1999
EU Commission initiative to improve EU’s civilian intervention capacity, April 2001
Presidency Report on Security and DefencePolicy – December 2000
ESDP: Commission proposes Rapid Reaction Facility to mobilise civilian crisis instruments – April 2000
Documents establishing the Political and Security Committee, the EU Military Committee and the EU Military Staff
EDA The European Defence Agency 1 and 2
Nice Treaty website, treaty text, Presidency conclusions and Prodi speech.
ECAP –European Capabilities Action Plan
EU Operations around the world
Statement by the Franco-German Defence & Security Council, April 2005
Evolution of the European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) NATO/EU
EU-NATO Cooperation
Communication from the Commission to the European Council, The European Parliament, etc European Defence-Industrial and Market Issues. Towards an EU Defence Equipment Policy
EU and the Western Balkans
Civilian aspects of conflict management
Civilian crisis management
Action Plan for Civilian Aspects of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) can be found at the bottom of this page along with other documents and links
Introduction to the Common Foreign and Security Policy
European Commission check-list for root causes of conflict
Analytical sources & news
EUobserver
EUobserver – militarisation section
Centre for European Policy Studies
European Security Review
ISIS
Statewatch
EurActiv.com
Europe 2020
The Defence System Daily
