Commentary
Sanctions on Iran put the health of US allies at risk
As COVID-19 resurges in Iran, US allies in the region should urge Washington for sanctions relief to ease humanitarian trade with Iran.
Senior Network Publications
Find all the latest Group Statements, Policy Interventions & Briefs and Commentaries from our Senior Network members below.
Commentary
In conversation with Silvana Koch-Mehrin: The gender challenge in security and defence
In a digital conversation, the founders of the ELN and Women Political Leaders discuss championing women in political leadership and redressing gender imbalances.
Group statement
ELN Group Statement: Saving the Open Skies Treaty
The ELN has issued a group statement, signed by 16 former high ranking military and defence figures from across Europe, urging all parties to remain in the agreement.
Commentary
Macron’s vision: a European role for the French nuclear deterrent
Carlo Trezza looks at President Macron’s speech at the Ecole de Guerre last month on the possible role of French nuclear deterrence in the context of European security and defence.
Commentary
Note from Tehran: Is there a last-minute rescue for the JCPOA?
From Tehran, Tarja Cronberg discusses whether the Iran nuclear deal can be saved and what this could mean for Europe.
Group statement
Group Statement on Nuclear Arms Control
Rising complexity is neither a justification for discarding arms control arrangements nor an excuse for inaction in agreeing new measures. Over 100 members of the ELN’s senior network call on world leaders to prioritise nuclear diplomacy at the UN General Assembly
Policy brief
Outlines for future conventional arms control in Europe: A sub-regional regime in the Baltics
Deteriorating relations between Russia and NATO and the increasing capacity for rapid deployment and concentration of forces increases instability and the risk of military escalation, namely in the Baltic region. Against this background, the countries concerned could be interested in a conventional arms control regime that helps to prevent destabilising build-ups of forces and to enhance maritime security.
Commentary
European precedent on security guarantees and assurances: Implications for US and North Korea
The US has committed to give security guarantees to the DPRK, but does the precedent of the Budapest Memorandum mean that these will be legally binding? Italy’s former Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Carlo Trezza, explores the use of security assurances vis-à-vis guarantees.
Commentary
A rules-based or US-based international order for Iran?
Dr Hans Blix, Director-General Emeritus of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ELN member, argues that, in the case of the JCPOA, the US government did not “withdraw” from an agreement but violated a legally binding UN Security Council decision.
Commentary
Nuclear diplomacy at stake: Can the remaining JCPOA partners join forces to save the deal?
The collapse of the deal threatens the future of nuclear diplomacy and the credibility of European foreign and security policy. Creative solutions to counteract US sanctions must be found as the 60 day deadline approaches.
Commentary
NATO at 70: Why NATO and the EU must work hand in hand
Former NATO Secretary-General and ELN member, Anders Fogh Rasmussen argues that the EU and NATO must work more closely together – as partners, not rivals.
Commentary
NATO at 70: Alliance readiness
Former NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Defence Policy and Planning and ELN Member, (ret.) Lieutenant General Heinrich Brauss, reflects on Alliance readiness in NATO’s 70th year.
Commentary
NATO at 70: The durable Alliance
Former NATO Secretary-General and ELN Member, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen reflects on the developments and future of the alliance in its anniversary year.
Commentary
2019: The year Georgia emerges as Europe’s strategic partner in Eurasian trade
Former Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia, Tedo Japaridze, writes that Georgia is no longer willing to be defined in “post terms,” as “post-Soviet”, or reduced to a dependent variable on Euro-Western relations; that 2019 will be the year Georgia shapes its own growth.
Commentary
Interview with Dr Hans Blix: The most important lesson in diplomacy is not to humiliate
ELN Senior Network member Dr Hans Blix speaks to Sophie Taylor on the current state of nuclear non-proliferation, the JCPOA, challenges in multilateralism and lessons-learned from a long and distinguished diplomatic career.
Commentary
Slovakia on the OSCE: A vision for peace in Europe
Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and ELN member, provides his country’s priorities for the 2019 chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Commentary
Preventing the US INF withdrawal: political and legal dimensions
Despite the fact that no legal mechanism can block the US decision, there is still a window of opportunity to save the INF treaty.
Commentary
European Defence: Moving Beyond the State
A seven step rationale in support of a collective European defence project.
Group statement
ELN Group Statement: A European response to US withdrawal from the INF Treaty
European political, diplomatic and military leadership figures appeal to the US and Russia to find a constructive resolution to the INF crisis.
Commentary
How to Reduce Nuclear Risks in Helsinki
How to make a success of next week’s Helsinki summit? Des Browne, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov and Sam Nunn put forward five recommendations to reduce nuclear risks.
Group statement
ELN Group Statement: Stay united with European capitals on the Iran nuclear deal
Over 100 European political, diplomatic and military leadership figures are appealing to President Trump not to take unilateral action that would jeopardise the deal and trigger a crisis in US-Europe relations.
Case study
Support for the Iran nuclear deal
The ELN has been committed to working to preserve the Iran nuclear deal through its analysis, advocacy and mobilising its senior pan-European network.
Group statement
ELN Group Statement: Sustaining the Iran Nuclear Deal
80 European leaders call on President Trump to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
Group statement
Statement of support for EU-NATO Collaboration
62 political, military and diplomatic European leaders endorses the recommendations in the ELN report ‘EU-NATO Relations: Inching forward?’ and call on governments to improve EU-NATO cooperation.
Group statement
European Leaders Endorse Call to Reactivate the Cooperative Airspace Initiative
60 leading political and military leaders from across greater Europe have issued a group statement calling for NATO and Russia to begin a reappraisal and a swift re-implementation of the initiative.
Report
ELN Member Survey on EU-Russia Relations
ELN Members have been surveyed on EU-Russia relations in order to inform the EU’s new Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy.
Group statement
77 ELN Members Warn of Growing Risk of Interstate War in the Middle East
Senior political, military and diplomatic figures from across greater Europe express their concern over an inter-state conflict over Syria and support measures to fight ISIS whilst bringing the Syrian conflict to a close.
Group statement
ELN Members Support Nuclear Security Summit Call to Action
Several ELN members have signed a call to action urging heads of states to continue the work of protecting, securing and reducing the quantity of dangerous nuclear materials after the final Nuclear Security Summit.
Group statement
ELN Network Members Endorse Task Force Proposal
2 Former NATO Sec Gens among 78 members of the European Leadership Network to support call for NATO and Russia to negotiate a new memorandum of understanding on close military encounters in Europe.
Group statement
Members of the European Leadership Network express support for the nuclear agreement with Iran
Signed by over 70 European political, diplomatic and military leadership figures, this intervention calls the July 14th Iranian nuclear agreement a sound framework for ending the crisis.