A Fresh Look at Eastern European Trends

Our longstanding Fresh Look at Eastern European Trends (FLEET) series brings together young security experts from across the OSCE region to explore the evolving challenges facing European security. Since 2015, the FLEET network has sought to identify common ground and develop joint policy proposals for strengthening cooperation across Europe. While Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has made consensus more difficult, FLEET continues as a platform for diverse perspectives on the future of European security.

The latest publications examine two interconnected dimensions of Europe's resilience: the role of public opinion in the EU's neighbourhood and the need for a more integrated understanding of security.

In The Strategic Value of Public Opinion in the EU's Neighbourhood, Izzy Colledge and Anna Ayers examine how citizens across Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans perceive the European Union. Drawing on extensive public opinion research, they show that support for the EU is driven less by ideological commitment than by expectations of security, prosperity and sovereignty. At the same time, concerns about national identity, economic costs and unmet expectations create vulnerabilities that domestic and external actors can exploit. The paper argues that public opinion should be treated as a strategic component of EU neighbourhood policy. More transparent communication, stronger engagement with citizens and visible improvements to everyday life are essential for sustaining trust and strengthening the EU's long-term influence.

In Securing Everything, Connecting Nothing? The Climate–Security–Democracy Nexus in European Governance, Lilybell Evergreen argues that European institutions risk undermining their own resilience by treating defence, climate and democracy as competing priorities. While comprehensive security has long been recognised in theory, governance structures, funding mechanisms and institutional cultures remain fragmented. The paper calls for reforms that integrate climate adaptation, democratic resilience and security policy, treat trust as a strategic asset, and create new forms of cooperation across institutions, governments and civil society.

Together, these publications highlight that European security depends not only on military capabilities, but also on public trust, democratic legitimacy and institutions that can respond to interconnected challenges. Whether engaging neighbouring societies or reforming governance within Europe, resilience ultimately rests on the ability to connect security with the people and systems that sustain it.