EUs «nye» sikkerhetspolitikk

This report is devoted to the EU as a comprehensive security policy actor. The aim is to study how the EU approaches the new threats and challenges facing the western communities and Europe. The analysis emphasises the EU as a civilian actor whose means ranges from traditional diplomacy to aid, foreign assistance, political dialogue, cooperation with other international institutions, and NGO´s etc. The EU´s role as a security policy actor is thus found within the sphere of prevention. The role of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) cooperation has therefore been intensified after 11 September 2001. JHA is currently a priority area within the EU integration process. One of the greatest challenges facing the EU now is the need for coordination between different policy areas. The present pillar structure of the EU is therefore a main obstacle. The need for coordination is especially felt between pillar II (CFSP) and pillar III (JHA). This need for coordination between areas is discussed in the report as it unfolds within the Convention, which was convened in the aftermath of the Laeken summit in December 2001.
The last part of the report focuses upon Norway. The challenges facing Norway is connected to the fact that Norway´s cooperative framework with the EU is rather static, while the EU itself is a dynamic process soon to encompass large parts of Central- and Eastern Europe.