The EU’s subsea data cable network is both vital for global connectivity and vulnerable. This study provides a systematic review of the current security threats, as well as the actors at the origin of these threats. Building on reports and expert input, the paper takes stock of c...

In recent years, security and defence policy has become one of the most burgeoning fields of European cooperation, and the war in Ukraine is further accelerating this integration dynamic. Yet, the formal role of the European Parliament (EP) has not been recalibrated to fit this n...

Russian President Putin has launched an unprecedented and unprovoked military attack against Ukraine. The EU is responding in the strongest possible terms, by adopting a comprehensive and robust package of restrictive measures. ...

On 24 February 2022, the Russian armed forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a result of this unprovoked and unjustified aggression, substantial areas of the Ukrainian territory became areas of war from which many persons are fleeing. The European Commission suppo...

On 24 February 2022, the Russian armed forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a result of this unprovoked and unjustified aggression, substantial areas of the Ukrainian territory became areas of war from which many persons are fleeing. The European Commission suppo...

In 2018, the Syrian regime expanded its control in the country’s western and southern regions. This shift in territorial control, however, did not lead to an interruption of illicit activities. The regime has fostered the creation of a favourable environment for smuggling network...

Smuggling goods in and out of Syria to Turkey and Iraq has long been an essential part of the Syrian economy. Smuggling was dominated by affiliates of the Syrian regime before 2011, and new actors have since emerged. The increase in smuggling activities during the Syrian conflict...

In the Druze-majority governorate of Sweida, kidnap gangs have evolved from their first unorganised forms in 2012 to sophisticated criminal networks with highly clandestine activities and elaborate prison systems. While substantial resources are required to survey, lure and detai...

The Islamic State’s attack, 20 January 2022, on al-Sina’a prison (al-Hasaka city) took both the international Coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces by surprise. The Islamic State remains, on the evidence of this raid, a centralised organisation, coordinating efficiently at t...