Although the EU has become a leading multilateral actor in the field of security sector reform (SSR), it continues to face significant challenges that hinder its potential for delivery. In the run-up to the prospective adoption of an EU-wide strategic framework for supporting SSR, this study aims to shed light on the realities faced by SSR policy makers and practitioners. By looking at the EU’s SSR track record, as well its involvement in the complementary process of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), this study provides an assessment of the lessons learnt and highlights the ways forward for the EU as a security provider, particularly ahead of the launch of its maiden Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS).

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The workshop was organized on June 15, 2016 at the initiative of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) with the aim of assessing the quantitative and qualitative parameters of Russian military presence in the Eastern Partnership Countries, and its implications for European security. Dr. Anna Maria Dyner, Analyst with the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and Coordinator of PISM’s Eastern European Programme, covered Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Dr. Gaïdz Minassian, Senior Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris and Associate Research Fellow at the French Fondation pour la Recherche stratégique, covered Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

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The workshop addresses the question to what extent change has taken place, meaning whether P&S is on track and has started delivering the results that MS have declared they want to achieve. It will therefore assess three crucial aspects: • The Member States’ engagement in P&S efforts and its outcomes: The assessment will look into the political cooperation frameworks and the concrete projects MS have agreed upon, both on EU and multinational levels, and the outcomes this has produced. This includes the industrial impact MS cooperation has had so far. • The support to Pooling and Sharing by Union level actors (Council, HR/VP, EDA): what kind of picture on problem awareness and strategic guidance emerges from the strategic documents Council and EDA have issued and what kind of support have especially EDA and HR/VP provided, which role have EU-institutions been able to play vis-à-vis MS? What can be learned from comparable efforts made in NATO? • The future perspective of P&S in terms of challenges, necessities and recommended initiatives linked to the further implementation of P&S: what are the most important concluding observations on the state of affairs, is it worth to continue opting for this change in defence cooperation and if it is, how can the remaining obstacles be overcome, namely the prevailing understanding of sovereignty of EU Member States?

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