Blogpost Symposium on EU Environmental Security
Introduction
by Teresa M. Cabrita, Assistant Professor of EU Law, UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles
Environmental security—understood not only as the securitisation of environmental issues but also the broader study of the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on human and ecological security, conflict and foreign policy—is a cross-disciplinary and dynamic field of scholarly and policy attention.
At the EU level, the environment-security nexus remains an emerging and urgent priority. While already present in the 2008 Solana Report, it has only recently taken root in EU discourse, particularly over the last half-decade. This shift is, for instance, reflected in the EU and its Member States’ participation in UN Security Council debates on climate, peace, and security.
The field’s scope is broad and far reaching. It covers critical issues ranging from water resilience to energy dependency, the environmental footprint of conflict and the effects of environmental degradation and climate change on conflict, human (im)mobility and vulnerability. Critics have pointed to the faultlines of an EU approach to environmental security grounded on traditional understandings of security, environmental diplomacy and foreign policy rather than human or ecological security. Others have praised the EU and its Member States for finally acknowledging climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’.
Against this backdrop, students of the Advanced Master in EU Environmental Governance (POLLEN) at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles were invited to explore the EU’s approach to environmental (in)security in its multiple dimensions, through concise and informative blogposts. Below, we are pleased to publish a selection of these posts, offering both a testament to and a teaser of our ongoing debates.
The diversity of the contributions reflects the richness of this field. Students examined topics ranging from:
- the need to better integrate ecosystem and maritime security into the European Ocean Pact (Luna Postel)
- the importance of taking prevention seriously in the Union’s water resilience strategy, lest public trust be eroded (Gaëlle Delandmeter)
- the need to reframe soil as a strategic resource linked to food security, climate resilience and ecosystem stability, moving beyond the limited scope of the EU Soil Monitoring Law (Matthieu Goetz)
- the trade-offs between EU energy security and the environmental security of third countries underpinning the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal, as well as the promises and pitfalls of the Critical Raw Materials Act and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs) in this respect (Andrea Perrino)
- the economic and security implications of the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels and the need to understand it as much more than an energy problem (Stijn Adams), and
- the broader implications of the EU’s efforts to overcome its strategic dependence on gas through REPowerEU and trade agreements (Honorine Meirlaen).
We hope that you enjoy reading these contributions as much as we enjoyed discussing them, and that you join the debates about the present and future of EU environmental (in)security.
Questions or comments about the posts and this symposium should be addressed to:
- Teresa M. Cabrita, Assistant Professor of EU Law and academic coordinator of the symposium (teresa.cabrita@uclouvain.be)
- Julie Delacourt, Communications Officer for the IEE and the EUMERGENCIES Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (julie.delacourt@uclouvain.be)
The posts were subject to internal peer review. Their content nevertheless remains the sole responsibility of each author. The views expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for European Studies (IEE) or of the European Commission, which co-funds the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence EUMERGENCIES, within which this symposium is organised.
The posts are subject to a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. You are welcome to share the posts for non-commercial purposes provided you do not modify them, and you attribute the content to their author.
Read the Blogposts
The European Ocean Pact: A Momentum for Enhancing Maritime Environmental Security
On 9 June 2025, announcing the establishment of the European Ocean Pact, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of the ocean in the following terms: It feeds us, cools us, and connects us to the world. […] The Ocean is still in crisis. Without action, we risk our future, directly linking life on Earth to the health of this wonderful natural space, and framing ocean protection as a matter of security.
Read moreThe EU’s drinking water governance: mopping the floor while the tap is running
The European Union has some of the strictest water standards in the world, yet reliable access to safe water can no longer be taken for granted. Research conducted over the past fifty years has revealed that groundwater contamination is far more widespread and harmful than previously believed. Additionally, the ever-increasing contamination by anthropogenic pollutants—those caused by human activities, including hazardous chemicals that did not exist or were barely recognized as contaminants a few years ago—create risks for human health and the environment that remain widely underestimated. From PFAS and pesticide residues to microplastics, many of these contaminants are highly persistent, difficult to remove and enormously costly to recover from.
Read moreHow The EU Soil Monitoring Law Misses The Security Picture
Soil plays a fundamental role as it is central to food production, climate regulation, biodiversity and the resilience of ecosystems. Yet, according to the European Commission, 60 to 70 percent of European soils are currently in poor health. A share that could reach 90 percent by 2050 if current trends continue. In response, the Soil Monitoring Law, the EU’s first harmonised legal framework dedicated to soils, entered into force in December 2025.
Read moreThe Global Implications of the Clean Industrial Deal: Reconciling Energy Transition at Home with Environmental Security Abroad
The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal (CID), centred on industrial decarbonisation and net-zero value chains, necessarily requires a strong external dimension. Clean industrial production – from green hydrogen and low-carbon steel to batteries and critical raw materials – depends on interconnected transnational value chains that increasingly rely on near-shoring strategies and strategic partnerships with third countries, especially in resource-rich neighbouring regions.
Read moreEurope’s incomplete dream for green autonomy
The paracetamol to relieve the pain of a headache, the packaging to keep food fresh, and the tubing used in a hospital IV line, all originate from a barrel of crude oil. Numerous everyday products depend on fossil-based carbon and hydrogen molecules. While recent geopolitical shocks (e.g., Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran conflict) have exposed Europe’s energy dependence, they have masked Europe’s dependence on fossil-based feedstocks for plastics and pharmaceuticals.
Read moreFrom Russian Gas to American LNG: Can the EU Balance Energy Security and Competitiveness?
In recent years, the European Commission has placed the competitiveness of its industry at the heart of its political agenda, as evidenced by a series of major initiatives from the Competitiveness Compass to the Clean Industrial Deal all designed to close the productivity gap with the United States and China.
Read more