SWOT Analysis of the European Global Strategy on Security Policy

2016
Individual Report
Sandra Borta ES1

Introduction
Security is among the contemporary worlds most discussed issues. The terrorist
threat, represented especially by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the last
years, has made organizations all over the world rethink their approach on security
and defence policy. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European
Commission, was given, in June 2015, one year to develop a strategy. In June 2016,
Mrs Mogherini displayed her plan, Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger
Europe, A Global Strategy for the European Unions Foreign And Security Policy.
The Global Strategy deals with all the fields of Foreign and Security Policy, but this
individual report shall focus on the strategy concerning security.
The report deals with a SWOT analysis of the European Security Strategy and
has its roots in three main documents: Mrs Mogherinis Shared Vision, Common
Action: A Stronger Europe, A Global Strategy for the European Unions Foreign And
Security Policy, the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence presented to the
council on November 14, 2016 and the Council conclusions on implementing the EU
Global Strategy in the area of Security and Defence.

Strengths
The internal (European) advantages that are highlighted by the EU Global
Strategy on Security are:
- better cooperation between the Member States and collective efforts to become
better prepared in case of a conflict ( for example, Common Security and Defence
Policy (CSDP) missions and operations can work alongside the European Border and
Coast Guard and EU specialised agencies to enhance border protection and maritime
security in order to save more lives, fight cross-border crime and disrupt smuggling
networks.1);

1 Frederica Mogherini, Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe, A Global Strategy for the European
Unions Foreign And Security Policy, June 2016, p.20.
- deepening of the European Unions harmonic and complementary cooperation with
the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) while respecting the institutional framework and
the autonomy to make decisions of both organizations;
- greater information sharing and intelligence cooperation between the Member States
and the EU agencies in order to identify terrorist threats, but also to supervise and
remove, if necessary, unlawful content from the media;
- more focus on education, communication, culture, youth and sport to counter violent
extremism;
- development of anti-terrorism cooperation with North Africa, the Middle East, the
Western Balkans and Turkey, and of joint programmes on countering violent
extremism and radicalisation;
- helping the Member States to develop a proper cyber threats protection, while
keeping an open, free and safe cyberspace;
- improving the energy diplomacy, but also diversifying the energy sources and
promoting nuclear safety standards in third-world countries;
- enhancement of strategic communication, so that the EU will be able to share
information with its citizens more easily, but also identify threats or misleading
information.

Weaknesses
As for the internal disadvantages that such a plan could have, these are:
- some of the Member States might refuse cooperation, especially because of the last
events, such as the Nice and Berlin terrorist attacks;
- relevant information concerning terrorist plans might not be easy to identify due to
the many ways in which internet can be used to transfer confidential information:
groups, emails, avatars, etc.;
- the problem of the marginalization of Muslims still remains in many European
countries, which can lead to feelings of not being accepted or depression; these people
become easy targets for radicalization;
- binding infrastructure agreements with third countries can have a differentiated
impact on the security of supply within the Union or hinder the functioning of the
internal energy market2.
2 Frederica Mogherini, Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe, A Global Strategy for the European
Unions Foreign And Security Policy, June 2016, p.22
 Opportunities
The opportunities or the external factors that can influence in a positive manner
the development and evolution of a better security strategy are the following:
- global economic growth; in 2015, the growth was estimated at 3.1 percent, while in
2016 was 3.4 percent and in 2017 specialists forecast that it will be at 3.6 percent;
global growth will make funds to support countries in their security improvement
possible;
- mobility; due to economic mobility, individuals or/and families can improve their
economic status; through social mobility, people can move between economic levels;
- technological progress can be considered an advantage in all fields; newly created
gadgets can help organizations deal with security, better identify threats and gather
intelligence.

Threats
The threats or the external factors that can influence negatively the outcome of
implementing a security strategy must also be taken into consideration, such as:
- the fact that the European project is being questioned; the United Kingdom has
already decided to leave the EU; France and Germany are also discussing the
possibility of leaving the Schengen area, to avoid other attacks like the ones in Nice or
Berlin;
- terrorism and violence plague Middle East, North Africa and the Western countries;
ISIS, the most active extremist group in the last years; the report Terror Gone Viral,
which investigated more than 100 ISIL terrorist attacks, shows that 40% of the attacks
were directed towards USA, while France comes on second place with 20%; it also
reveals the fact that in total, ISIS is responsible for more than 1,600 casualties since
2014; the highest-casualty attacks occurred in Paris, Brussels and Nice3;
- security tensions in Asia are mounting, such as issues including territorial disputes,
building-up military forces and the past full of conflict;
- climate change; changes of climate can cause disruptions; in Southern Europe, one
threat could be the volcanoes in Italy and the islands: Etna, Stromboli and Mount
Vesuvius that is thought to be preparing to erupt again, while in Northern Europe, the
melting of the ice and the rising of the sea level can create serious security problems.
3 House Homeland Security Committee Majority Staff Report, Terror Gone Viral, Overview of the 100+ ISIS-
linked plots against the West , July 2016.
 Conclusion
This individual report does not pretend to be exhaustive. It deals with the main
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that a global strategy on security
policy brings about. After Federica Mogherini presented the strategy in June 2016, she
thought about how to implement the plan, implementation that she presented in from
of the council on November 14, 2016. As for the plan, only the Member States can
make it work, by cooperating and by supporting the Union as a whole.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Council conclusions on implementing the EU Global Strategy in the area of

Security and Defence, presented on November 14, 2016.
House Homeland Security Committee Majority Staff Report, Terror Gone Viral,
Overview of the 100+ ISIS-linked plots against the West , July 2016.
Implementation Plan on Security and Defence , presented to the council by the
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-
President of the European Commission, and Head of the European Defence Agency,
on November 14, 2016.
Mogherini, Frederica, Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe, A
Global Strategy for the European Unions Foreign And Security Policy, June 2016.