Europeconsists of fifty sovereign states. The European Union (EU) is the mostprominent economic and social cooperation in the region. A total of 28countries in Europe make up the EU. To deal with the security issues in theregion, the EU has come up with a number of strategies and policies. Key amongthem is the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) that guides the union’sdiplomatic, defense, and security actions.To safeguard their security, European nations have also cooperated with other nations and organizations. Considering that a majority of the European nations were part of the Western Bloc during the Cold war, they depended heavily on the US for their security. NATO has also been a key strategic partner to the EU when it comes to matters security. Until 1999, the organization handled all security matters affecting the European Union. However, the EU took over from NATO after 1999. However, both the EU and NATO have continued to cooperate.NATOand the EU share majority of their member states. A total of 24 NATO memberstates are also members of the EU. Only 4 members of NATO are not members ofthe EU and vice versa. This has made it easy for the two organizations tocooperate in security matters.Europe has in the past faced a number of security threats. Key among them were a terrorism and increased aggression by Russia in the region. There also a wide range of emerging security threats in the region. They include immigration, ISIS, cyber-crime, and a weakening NATO. Better collaboration between the EU and NATO is needed if the region is to remain secure.AbbreviationsEU = EuropeanUnionGDP = GrossDomestic ProductCFSP = CommonForeign and Security PolicyNATO = NorthAtlantic Treaty OrganizationOSCE = Organizationfor Security and Co-operation in EuropeUNSC = UnitedNations Security CouncilESDP = EuropeanSecurity and Defense PolicyISIS = IslamicState of Iraq and the LevantSection 1:IntroductionEurope is a continent consisting of a total of fifty sovereign states. Cumulatively, the region has a total population of an estimated 740 million people (Lazaridis, 2016). The European Union (EU) is the most vocal and active economic and political union within the Europe. As can be seen in table 1, it consists of a total of 28 countries and represents an estimated 510 million people. At the present, it is the largest and most diverse economy globally, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of an estimated $ 16.477 trillion. This is approximately 22.2 percent of the world’s total GDP. The EU has also been at the forefront when it comes to the issue of security governance. The union maintains a common security policy.TheCommon Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was developed by the EU with to guidethe diplomatic, defense, and security actions of its member states. Traditionally,the CFSP considered the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to beresponsible for Europe’s reconciliation and defense. However, the situationchanged in 1999 with the EU taking over the policing of agreements and treatiesas well as the implementation of peacekeeping missions (Lazaridis, 2016).The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has also played a major role in security governance within Europe. Table 2 illustrates that all EU member nations are also members of OSCE. It is the world’s largest intergovernmental organization that focuses primarily on security matters. At the present, the OSCE is composed of 57 member states from Europe, North America, as well as Central and Northern Asia (Massart, 2017). The body has a number of mandates which include controlling arms sales and movement.  It also seeks to promote elections that are free and fair, press freedom, as well as respect for human rights. Section 2: HowSecurity Governance in Europe has changed since the End of the Cold WarSecuritygovernance in Europe has evolved over the years to meet the regions everchanging needs. Traditionally, America and Russia played an active role ininfluencing security policies throughout Europe. This was especially the caseduring the cold war when European nations aligned themselves to the Eastern andWestern Blocs. The Eastern Bloc was constituted of the Soviet Union and itsatellite states such as Cuba and North Korea. The Western Bloc on the otherhand was mainly made up of United States of America and its NATO allies (Lazaridis, 2016). It is worth noting that a majorityof European countries were NATO member states. As such, they mainly depended onthe United States of America for security during and immediately after the ColdWar era.Withthe end of the cold war, European nations sought to take more control of theirown security. They sought to move away from depending on the United States tohaving their own security policies and strategies. Until 1999, the regiondepended on NATO for security and defense (Sperlingand Webber, 2014). The trend however changed in 1999 when the EU tookover security matters affecting member states. Subsequently, it came up withthe Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) that guided their interactionbetween the member states and other parties in matters security, defense anddiplomacy (Massart, 2017). However, NATO hascontinued to play a major role in the governance of security in the regionespecially in matters defense. At the same time, most European states havecontinued to be members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation inEurope (OSCE). However, EU policies are binding for all member states andoverride those of the other organizations.Section 3: Current Structure of theEuropean Union (EU)TheEU has seven key institutions that assist in policy making and implementation. TheEuropean council is the top-most institution within the EU. It consists of boththe presidents of the European Council and the European Commission as well asall the heads of state and government in all the EU member countries (Councilof the European Union, 2011). Both the presidents of the European Council andthe European Commission have no vote. The council is based in Brussels, Belgiumand is charged with the responsibility of setting EU’s general priorities andgoals. Although the council does not legislate, it gives the EU the much neededpolitical impetus.TheCouncil of the European Union is a legislative institution within the EU. It ischarged with the responsibility of coordination EU’s social and economicpolicies as they are stipulated in the Common Foreign and Security Policy(CFSP). The institution works hand in hand with the European Parliament withwhich it shares budgetary powers (Council of the European Union, 2011). It isalso responsible for concluding any international treaties and agreements theEU is party to.TheEuropean parliament plays a legislative role within the EU. Together with the Councilof the European Union, the European parliament forms the EU’s legislature. Italso shares budgetary powers with the council of the European Union (Lazaridis, 2016). It wields democratic control overother institutions within the EU such as the European Commission. For examples,it approves members to the commission.TheEuropean commission is EU’s executive branch. It is charged with theresponsibility of submitting proposals for any new legislation to both thecouncil and the legislature. The institution also administers the EU’s budgetand implements the body’s policies. It ensures that all member states honortreaties and agreements and at the same time comply with the European law. Thecommission also negotiates on behalf of the EU in international agreements (Lazaridis, 2016).TheCourt of Justice of the European Union has is based in Luxembourg and ischarged with the responsibility of ensuring that the European Law is interpretedand applied uniformly across all member states (Lazaridis,2016). It has powers to rule on disputes between individuals, businesses,institutions, as well as EU member states.TheEuropean Central Bank works in collaboration with the national central banks ofthe EU member states. Together, they form the European System of Central Banks(Sperling and Webber, 2014). They come up withmonetary policies and exercise control over the supply of money.European Court of Auditors ensures that the budget is implemented in the right manner. It is an independent institution that seeks to provide oversight over the utilization of resources within the EU. Section 4: Relationship between theEuropean Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military allianceconstitution of 28 sovereign states. Members to the alliance have agreed tomutual collaboration and defense in the event of aggression by an externalparty. It is worth noting that three of NATO members are also permanent membersof the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Subsequently, they have vetopowers and are for this reason able to influence international securitypolicies (Lazaridis, 2016). These include theUnited Kingdom, the United States of America, as well as France.NATO and the EU share common strategic interests. The two organizations cooperate in matters of security, political consultation, capacity development, as well as crisis management. It is worth noting that both NATO and the EU share majority of their members (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017a). It is worth noting that 24 of the 28 members of NATO are also members of the EU. This means that only 4 members of the NATO are not members of the EU. At the same time, only 4 members of the EU are not members of NATO. Section 5: How the European Union (EU) andthe North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Programmes of Expansion havecontributed to European SecurityTheEU and NATO programmesof expansion have had a major contribution to European security. The twoorganizations launched institutionalized relations in 2001. This was a productof the steps undertaken throughout the 1990s between the two organizations withthe aim of improving defense matters throughout Europe (Lazaridis, 2016). The result was the formation of the NATO-WesternEuropean Union cooperation in 2001.In2002, the two organizations declared the European Security and Defense Policy(ESDP). Its purpose was to reaffirm relations between NATO and the EU. Bothparties would going forward share their defense planning and capabilities (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017). The 2003Berlin Plus engagements set out the arrangements whereby the EU would lead itsoperations without having to engage NATO as a whole.The 2010, Lisbon summit came up with resolutions to improve NATO-EU cooperation. It was agreed that the two organizations would cooperate in matters of conflict management, stabilization of situations in the post-conflict period, and crisis prevention (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017a).Section 6: Problems and New SecurityThreats Europe FacesThereare a wide range of security problems that affect Europe. Terrorism has beenfor years been the main security challenge facing the region. Unlike otherforms of security risks, terrorism is harder to predict. The proximity of the EUto the Middle East and some volatile regions of Northern Africa such as Libyahave made it more susceptible to terror attacks. NATO’s intervention in theLibyan crisis has for instance made Europe a major target by terror cells inboth Libya and the Middle East (Lazaridis, 2016).The intelligence services of the EU have done a poor Job when it comes tosharing intelligence regarding terrorism. Traditionally, terrorist activitiesused to be perpetrated by foreigners who held different political and religiousideologies. In recent times, domestic terrorism perpetrated by European nationalshas also become a reality. Increased Russian aggression especially towardsUkraine also threatens peace and security in the region.Therehas also been an upsurge of security threats in Europe. Key among them is theweakening of the EU. Member countries have gradually formed a habit of ignoringdirectives by the organization. Such activities are likely to undermine the powersof the organization in the future and hamper its efforts to promote security inthe region. Britain’s Brexit from the EU also weakens the EU (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017b). With theexit of Britain from the EU, the organization will not only lose a permanentmember of the UNSC but also a strategic NATO member. The proposal of the USpresident Donald Trump to cut his country’s funding to NATO also threatens thesecurity of the EU. The United States has for decades been the greatest sourceof funding to NATO. In the event that the proposal is to be implemented, the abilityof Europe to protect itself through NATO is likely to be greatly undermined.Europe also has to deal with the immigrant issue. Conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq have led in the massive displacement of populations. Many of these refugees have made their way to Europe as a result of its close proximity to the war-torn regions. It is estimated that about 1.8 immigrants entered the region without following the proper legal channels in 2015. An additional 980,000 have applied for asylum to the EU (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017b). Some of these Immigrants have been linked to the latest wave of terrorist activities throughout Europe.Theproliferation of ISIS is also a major emerging security challenge facingEurope. The terrorist organization has resulted to recruiting sympathizers fromEU member countries. Efforts by Russian, US, Arab, and European forces to putto an end the ISIS menace has resulted in the group becoming more aggressive (Friedman and Shapiro, 2017). By entrenching itselfin the borders of European countries, ISIS has succeeded in keeping Europeancountries occupied. Cyber-crime is also another growing security challenge inthe region (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017b).European countries have lost billions of dollars in cyber-attacks mainlyperpetrated by ISIS. This money has then been used to fund terrorist activitieswithin Europe.Section 7: How the European Union (EU) andthe North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have addressed Security Problemsand New Security Threats Europe FacesBoth NATO and the EU have made attempts to deal with both the existing as well as the emerging security threats in Europe. The NATO Warsaw summit held in July 2016 explored measures that would help the region better deal with hybrid security threats. The summit focused on issues of cyber defense, defense capacity building, and maritime security. Discussions were also held on how to improve security through defense capacity building and joint defense exercises. Over 40 measures to measures proposed to improve cooperation between the EU and NATO during the conference were approved in December 2016 by NATO foreign ministers (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2017a). It is expected that going forward, both NATO and the EU are going to continue cooperating in matters security.Section 8: TablesTable 1: EU Member CountriesTable 2: Organization for Security and Co-operationin Europe Member Countries.Section 9: BibliographyCouncil of the EuropeanUnion (2011). Security Committee. Accessed14.04.17 at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/preparatory-bodies/security-committee/Massart, P (2017) A EuropeanSecurity Council based on the U.S. model could do wonders for the developmentof a European strategic community beyond the policy wonks in the Brusselsbubble. Accessed 14.04.17 at: http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/68168.North AtlanticTreaty Organization (2017a). Relationswith the European Union. Accessed 14.04.17 at: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49217.htmNorthAtlantic Treaty Organization (2017b). Currentsecurity challenges and the role of NATO and the European Union. Accessed14.04.17 at: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_124128.htm?selectedLocale=en.Friedman, G., and Shapiro, J.L. (2017). 3 issues that will lead totrouble in Europe in 2017. Accessed 14.04.17 at: http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-3-main-issues-for-europe-in-2017-2017-1?IR=T.Lazaridis, G., (2016). Security,insecurity and migration in Europe. London, UK: Routledge.Sperling, J. and Webber, M., 2014. Security governance in Europe:a return to system. European security, vol. 23 (2), pp.126-144.Get Help With Your EssayIf you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more