Received:
2025-08-20 | Accepted:
2026-01-06 | Published:
2026-03-30
Title
The provision of security in the EU: an interdisciplinary analysis of security as a public good in the era of transnational threats
Abstract
This paper examines security as a public good within the context of its provision at the European Union level, analysing its theoretical, economic, and institutional dimensions. It is grounded in the concept of non-excludability and non-rivalry of public goods and demonstrates that modern security threats—ranging from hybrid threats, terrorism, organised crime, and pandemics, to cyber-attacks—transcend national state borders, thereby undermining traditional state-centric models of security provision. The author employs an interdisciplinary research approach, combining analytical methods from economics, political science, European studies, and security studies, which allows for a comprehensive capture of the multi-level nature of security provision as a public good. The analysis highlights that the EU is gradually assuming the role of a security provider through common policies, mechanisms, and instruments, while identifying fundamental obstacles, particularly in the form of fragmented competences, uneven Member State contributions, and inadequate financing. Empirical examples, such as the joint responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine, confirm the growing necessity for coordinated, collective solutions. The article concludes that, given the deterioration of the regional and global security environment and the deepening of instability and uncertainty, the strengthening of European cooperation, solidarity, and financing is essential for the sustainable provision of security as one of the key European public goods.
Keywords
security as a public good, European Union (EU), collective security, fragmentation of competences, strategic autonomy, solidarity, political and institutional challenges
JEL classifications
F50
, F52
, H41
, H56
URI
http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/1403
DOI
Pages
236-249
Funding
This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
References
Abalasei, D. E. (2024). Overview of the dynamics of the European Union budget. Journal of Public Administration, Finance and Law, 32(2), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.47743/jopafl-2024-32-2
Search via ReFindit
Androniceanu, A.-M., Căplescu, R. D., Tvaronavičienė, M., & Dobrin, C. (2021). The Interdependencies between Economic Growth, Energy Consumption and Pollution in Europe. Energies, 14(9), 2577. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14092577
Search via ReFindit
Anev Janse, K., Beetsma, R., Buti, M., Regling, K., & Thygesen, N. (2025). European public goods: the time for action is now. Bruegel. https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/european-public-goods-time-action-now
Search via ReFindit
Atkinson, A. B., & Stiglitz, J. E. (2015). Lectures on Public Economics. Princeton University Press. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691166414/lectures-on-public-economics?srsltid=AfmBOorGqIsbsV4zaqmxoLnMNEXvfq4BKaxq53TFVqgy6KNzj_88vXfl
Search via ReFindit
Bakardjieva Engelbrekt, A., Ekman, P., Michalski, A., & Oxelheim, L. (Eds.). (2024). The borders of the European Union in a conflictual world. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54200-8
Search via ReFindit
Baldwin, D. A. (1997). The concept of security. Review of International Studies, 23(1), 5-26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210597000053
Search via ReFindit
Balfour, R., Baroncelli, E., Bomassi, L., Csernatoni, R., Goldthau, A., Grevi, G., Hoeffler, C., Jones, E., Nair, P. P., Ülgen, S., & Youngs, R. (2024). Geopolitics and economic statecraft in the European Union. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/11/geopolitics-and-economic-statecraft-in-the-european-union?lang=en
Search via ReFindit
Bamigboye, O. M. (2023). Hired guns against terrorism: assessing the use of commercial soldiers in Nigeria's counterterrorism strategy. Insights into Regional Development, 5(3), 73-94. https://doi.org/10.9770/ird.2023.5.3(5)
Search via ReFindit
Belan, L. 2023. Bezpečnosť – riziká a ich vplyv na plnenie úloh ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky. Politické vedy, 26(3) 159-184. https://doi.org/10.24040/politickevedy.2023.26.3.159-184
Search via ReFindit
Bossong, R., & Rhinard, M. (2012). European internal security as a public good. European Security, 22(2), 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2012.727181
Search via ReFindit
Burinskas, A., & Tvaronavičienė, M. (2022). The Market Structure Simulation of Heterogenous Firms. Economies, 10(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10010009
Search via ReFindit
Davidson, J. (2023). No ‘free riding’ here: European defense spending defies US critics. Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/no-free-riding-here-european-defense-spending-defies-us-critics
Search via ReFindit
de Vries, M. S., Nemec, J., & Špaček, D. (2022). International trends in participatory budgeting. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79930-4
Search via ReFindit
Demmke, C., Paulini, M., Autioniemi, J., & Lenner, F. (2020). The effectiveness of conflict-of-interest policies in the EU-Member States. European Parliament, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs. https://doi.org/10.3726/b18626
Search via ReFindit
Dermine, P. (2025). Funding Europe’s defence: A first take on the Commission’s ReArm Europe Plan. VerfBlog. https://doi.org/10.59704/4c71fd729acff01f
Search via ReFindit
Deubner, C. (2016). Linking and overlap between the EU’s security policies. Foundation for European Progressive Studies. https://feps-europe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Linking-and-overlap-between-the-EUs-security-policies.pdf
Search via ReFindit
Digital Europe. (2025). Updating the EU cybersecurity framework: Industry priorities for the Cybersecurity Act revision. https://cdn.digitaleurope.org/uploads/2025/06/Updating-the-EU-cybersecurity-framework-Industry-priorities-for-the-Cybersecurity-Act-revision-.pdf
Search via ReFindit
Dorussen, H., Kirchner, E. J., & Sperling, J. (2009). Sharing the Burden of Collective Security in the European Union. International Organization, 63(4), 789-810. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818309990105
Search via ReFindit
Ellyatt, H. (2018). Trump’s NATO criticism is ‘valid,’ Europe isn’t spending enough on defense, UK ex-minister says. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/11/trumps-nato-criticism-is-valid-europe-isnt-spending-enough-on-def.html
Search via ReFindit
Engerer, H. (2011). Security as a public, private or club good: some fundamental consideration. Defence and Peace Economics, 22(2), 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2011.542333
Search via ReFindit
ENISA. (2025). 2024 report on the state of cybersecurity in the Union. European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. https://doi.org/10.2824/0401593
Search via ReFindit
European Commission. (2025). Commission presents ProtectEU Internal Security Strategy. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-presents-protecteu-internal-security-strategy-2025-04-01_en
Search via ReFindit
European Commission. 2025. Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/ucpm/wp-call/2025/call-fiche_ucpm-2025-kapp-pvpp_en.pdf
Search via ReFindit
European Union. (2020). NextGenerationEU. https://next-generation-eu.europa.eu/index_en
Search via ReFindit
European Union. (2025). ProtectEU: A European internal security strategy. EUR-Lex. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52025DC0148
Search via ReFindit
Frederick, B., Evans, A. T., Hvizda, M., Laufer, A., Wang, H., Charap, S., Marcinek, K., Shatz, H. J., Holynska, K., & Ochmanek, D. A., et al. (2025). Consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War and the Changing Face of Conflict. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA3141-1.html
Search via ReFindit
Fuest, C., & Pisani-Ferry, J. (2019). A primer on developing European public goods. A Report to Ministers Bruno Le Maire and Olaf Scholz. Bruegel. https://www.bruegel.org/external-publication/primer-developing-european-public-goods-report-ministers-bruno-le-maire-and-olaf-scholz
Search via ReFindit
Fürst, J. P. (2024). EU Border Policy: Enhanced border security and challenges to free movement. In A. Bakardjieva Engelbrekt, P. Ekman, A. Michalski, & L. Oxelheim (Eds.). The borders of the European Union in a conflictual world (Chapter 2, pp. 23–43). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54200-8_2
Search via ReFindit
Genini, D. (2025). How the war in Ukraine has transformed the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. Yearbook of European Law, yeaf003. https://doi.org/10.1093/yel/yeaf003
Search via ReFindit
Gruarin, V., Lopes, S., & Spada, A. (2025). Rearming the European Union: Power, unity, or fragmentation? International Team for the Study of Security. https://www.itssverona.it/rearming-the-european-union-power-unity-or-fragmentation
Search via ReFindit
Hajiyeva, N. (2024). The war in Ukraine and the EU’s policy of economic globalisation: new security challenges and issues. Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/war-ukraine-and-eus-policy-economic-globalisation-new-security-challenges-and-issues
Search via ReFindit
Hildebrand, P., Rey, H., & Schularick, M. (2025). European defence governance and financing. Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/european-defence-governance-and-financing
Search via ReFindit
Ivančík, R. (2012). Bezpečnosť z pohľadu ekonomickej teórie. Politické vedy, 15(3), 100-124. http://www.fpvmv.umb.sk/userfiles/file/3_2012/IVANCIK.pdf
Search via ReFindit
Ivančík, R., & Andrassy, V. (2025). Discussing EU’s Security Identity: Defence Spending, Strategic Autonomy and Transition from Normative Ambition to Geopolitical Reality. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 13(1), 411-425. http://doi.org/10.9770/c2892383535
Search via ReFindit
Jurčák, V., & Ivančík, R. (2023). Od Spoločnej bezpečnostnej a obrannej politiky k spoločnej armáde Európskej únie? Vojenské rozhledy, 32(1), 18-34. https://doi.org/10.3849/2336-2995.32.2023.01.018-034
Search via ReFindit
Kavan, Š. (2021). Evaluation of the Current Approach to Education of Security Issues. Sustainability, 13(19), 10684. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910684
Search via ReFindit
Kellerhals, A., Baumgartner, T., & Reber, C. (2022). European integration perspectives in times of global crises. EIZ Publishing. http://ricl.iup.rs/1681/1/European%20Integration%20Perspectives%20in%20Times%20of%20Global%20%20Crises%20-%20%C4%86erani%C4%87%20Peri%C5%A1i%C4%87.pdf
Search via ReFindit
Knezović, S., & Tkalec, M. (2025). Defense spending, conflict and economic growth in Europe. De Gruyter Brill. https://doi.org/10.1515/peps-2025-0004
Search via ReFindit
Kompan, J., & Hrnciar, M. (2021). The Security Sector Reform of the Fragile State as a Tool for Conflict Prevention. Political Science, 24(2), 87-107. https://doi.org/10.24040/politickevedy.2021.24.2.87-107
Search via ReFindit
Koutrakos, P. (2012). The European Union’s common foreign and security policy after Lisbon. In D. Ashiagbor, N. Countouris, & I. Lianos (Eds.): The European Union after the Treaty of Lisbon (Chapter 7, pp. 185-209). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139084338.008
Search via ReFindit
Mafart, J. (2025). Hybrid threats, new horizons for the internal security of Europe? Foundation Robert Schuman, Schuman Paper No. 787. https://server.www.robert-schuman.eu/storage/en/doc/questions-d-europe/qe-787-en.pdf
Search via ReFindit
Majchút, I. (2018). Great powers in Cyprus conflict. International Relations 2018: Current Issues of World Economy and Politics, 19, 463-470. https://dokumen.pub/great-power-politics-in-cyprus-foreign-interventions-and-domestic-perceptions-1nbsped-9781443863254-9781443853149.html
Search via ReFindit
Maurer, H., & Wright, N. (2021). Still governing in the shadows? Member States and the Political and Security Committee in the Post-Lisbon EU Foreign Policy Architecture. Journal of Common Market Studies, 59(4), 856-872. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13134
Search via ReFindit
Mejino-López, J., & Wolff, G. B. (2024). A European defence industrial strategy in a hostile world. Bruegel, Policy Brief No. 04/2024. https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/european-defence-industrial-strategy-hostile-world
Search via ReFindit
Mikušová Meričková, B., & Stejskal, J. (2014). Value of collective consumption goods. Politická ekonomie: teorie, modelování, aplikace, 62(2), 216-231. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.polek.947
Search via ReFindit
Mikušová Meričková, B., Juraj Nemec, J., & Jakuš Muthová, N. (2024). Contract management of municipal public services: the Slovak experience. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 41. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02549-2
Search via ReFindit
Olson, M. L. (2009). The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (rev. ed.). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjsf3ts
Search via ReFindit
Otten, K., Buskens, V., Przepiorka, W., & Ellemers, N. (2025). Protecting public goods or helping free riders? Psychological Science, 36(7), 514-527. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976251346178
Search via ReFindit
Palárik, M., Mikulášová, A., Hetényi, M., & Arpáš, R. (2018). The City and Region Against the Backdrop of Totalitarianism. Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b13394
Search via ReFindit
Pornschlegel, S. (2021). Solidarity in the EU: More hype than substance? European Policy Center. https://archive.epc.eu/content/PDF/2021/EU_solidarity_IP.pdf
Search via ReFindit
Raimondo, G. (2024). The European Integrated Border Management: Frontex, Human Rights, and International Responsibility. Hart Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509964574
Search via ReFindit
Razminienė, K. & Tvaronavičienė, M. (2024). Advancing Circular Economy through Knowledge Transfer: A Decade of Research Insights, Acta Monstanistica Slovaca, 29(2), 470-488. https://doi.org/10.46544/AMS.v29i2.19
Search via ReFindit
Rehak, D., Hromada, M., Jemelkova, S., Brumarova, L., & Haring, I. (2025). Strengthening the sustainability of energy critical entities through a business continuity management system. Sustainability, 17(6), 2766. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062766
Search via ReFindit
Samuelson, P. A., & Nordhaus, W. D. (2009). Economics. McGraw-Hill Education.
Search via ReFindit
Szabó, Z. (2023). African peacekeeping operations in recent years. Insights into Regional Development, 5(1), 72-85. https://doi.org/10.9770/ird.2023.5.1(5)
Search via ReFindit
Taylor, I. (2024). Security as a political concept. Inquiry, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2024.2374025
Search via ReFindit
Thielemann, E. (2012). Burden-Sharing. In E. Jones, A. Menon, & S. Weatherill (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the European Union. Oxford Academic. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199546282.013.0056
Search via ReFindit
Trauner, F. (2011). The internal-external security nexus: More coherence under Lisbon? European Union Institute for Security Studies, Occasional Paper No. 89. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1885322
Search via ReFindit
Trimintzios, P., Chatzichristos, G., Portesi, S., Drogkaris, P., Palkmets, L., Liveri, D., & Dufkova, A. (2017). Cybersecurity in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP): Challenges and risks for the EU. European Parliamentary Research Service. 603175_EN.pdf https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/603175/EPRS_STU(2017)
Search via ReFindit
Vasiliauskienė, V. (2024). The development of European Union security policy. Public Security and Public Order, 35(1), 334-347. https://doi.org/10.13165/PSPO-24-35-24
Search via ReFindit
Wadjdi, A. F., Tambayong, J., & Sianturi, E. M. (2023). Enhancing national defense capabilities through collaborative programs: insights and policy recommendations for Indonesia. Insights into Regional Development, 5(3), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.9770/ird.2023.5.3(1)
Search via ReFindit
Walker, N. (2020). The European Public Good and European Public Goods. Edinburgh School of Law, Research Paper No. 2020/20. http://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3712265
Search via ReFindit
Wolff, G. B., Steinbach, A., & Zettelmeyer, J. (2025). The governance and funding of European rearmament. Bruegel. Policy Brief No. 15/2025. https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2025-0041
Search via ReFindit
Ybáñez, I. (2022). Europe’s Security at Stake. CEBRI Journal, 1(2), 16-31. https://cebri.org/revista/en/artigo/29/europes-security-at-stake
Search via ReFindit
RSS 1.0