Europe's defence structure is taking shape. The EU in December 2017 launched a "permanent structured cooperation" on defence agreement (PESCO) across 25 countries to stimulate the development of military projects and the design of common defence equipment. As the United Kingdom and its powerful army prepare to leave the EU, new challenges to the security of the continent are emerging with the Islamist threat, growing tensions with Russia and pressure from migration. With this new common defence structure, will European countries redefine their relations with NATO? Will the EU live up to these new challenges?
Defence and security
A continent's preparations for a world of challenges
Kaliningrad: Russian outpost in the heart of Europe
Situated some 1,000 miles from Moscow, the Russian outpost of Kaliningrad has been drawn into the war in Ukraine, after Lithuania said it would no longer act as a conduit for sanctioned goods arriving in the territory from the motherland
Coronavirus, Defence and security, Economy, Energy, Food and agriculture, Health, Migrants, Infographic
War, hunger, Covid-19 cast gloomy shadow over Europe
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the list of Europe's woes keeps growing as it battles rising food and energy prices and continued disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
Hungary’s neutral war stance puts off Ukraine refugees
Like Kristina Novytska, most Ukrainian refugees in Hungary are keen to leave the country, whose nationalist leader's neutral stance on the war is an exception in the EU
Rattled by Russia, Finns flock to military training
On a windy island off Helsinki, people from all walks of life are spending their weekend doing military training, as volunteer numbers soar and Finland readies to join NATO to protect itself from Russia
Countries with the highest military spending
Which country spends how much on the military? The chart lists 15 countries - the graph can be sorted by absolute values in billion US$ or percentage changes in military spending since 2012
Russian army, Putin’s favoured foreign policy tool
Whether they have been camped out on Ukraine's borders or moving tanks across the vast country, Russia's battle-hardened troops have made the world listen to Vladimir Putin, who wants to redefine European security