• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Excelitas Qioptiq banner

BATTLESPACE Updates

   +44 (0)77689 54766
   

  • Home
  • Features
  • News Updates
  • Company Directory
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media Pack 2022

Security Autonomy for Europe? Sir Adam Thomson KCMG By Sir Adam Thomson KCMG

April 17, 2017 by Julian Nettlefold

07 Apr 17. The gathering of 27 EU leaders on 25 March to mark the Rome Treaty’s 60th anniversary was hardly a visionary affair, least of all on defence and security. Brexit and the French elections put rather a dampener on vision.

Yet Europe could use some vision right now. The forces undermining the continent’s security have not been so great, or so grave, for decades. And the EU is sitting on a visionary idea, not knowing quite what to do with it.

Last July’s EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy “nurtures the ambition of strategic autonomy for the European Union”. And last October EU member states “fully committed” to the Global Strategy’s implementation.

Unfortunately, the end goal of “strategic autonomy” is nowhere defined. So the effect is corrosive for intra-EU, EU-NATO and transatlantic trust rather than visionary about Europe taking responsibility for its own defence and security.

But the idea of being able to look after one’s own security is not strange. Why should the planet’s biggest economy, with most of its richest societies, enjoying some of its strongest institutions, with almost 20% of the world’s military spending and two nuclear powers, not be able to act autonomously on its own defence?

There are four reasons why not, but these should not be the end of the story:

First, since 1945 Europeans have depended on the US: two world wars radically diminished their interest in hard military effort. So, at a strategic level, Europe doesn’t appear to have the military capability to defend itself by itself. It lacks enough of essential things like communications, precision guided munitions, sea and air lift, air-to-air refuelling, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that only the Americans can provide in sufficient quantity.

Second, although the EU is strong on many aspects of security, it depends on a different institution for large-scale hard defence: NATO. So in a strategic sense, institutionally the EU cannot be fully autonomous.

Third, if the EU and its member states ever agreed to do high-end security all on their own, this would take a long time to build up. NATO planners assess that, best case, by the early 2030s European Allies will still depend on the US for over one third of the military capabilities required to defend Europe. Europeans will depend on Americans for quite a few decades yet.

Fourth, with the departure of the UK goes 25% of the military capability in principle available to the EU. If they were serious about “strategic autonomy”, Paris and Berlin would want defence arrangements that engaged the UK’s considerable military capabilities. So that would not be inside the EU, even if the EU continued to provide most of the continent’s softer security.

But suppose the EU’s 27 remaining leaders reframed the “strategic autonomy” vision for their meeting with President Trump on [25] May?

Suppose instead of saying that the “EU” should be strategically autonomous they were slightly more modest and said that by, say, 2049, one hundred years after NATO’s Washington Treaty was signed, “Europe” should be strategically autonomous and that the EU would play its full part? They might add that they looked forward to working with NATO on a roadmap to get there.

That would put them in the lead on a vision that should please everybody.

For those like the British Government who think the EU arrogates too much to itself and is unrealistic about European construction, this would recognise that Europe’s security and defence depends on EU-NATO collaboration. Recognising the time, effort and realism required for European autonomy would be politically healthy, not least in the Brexit debate.

For those who fear that talking about US disengagement will hasten the day, this says nothing about putting NATO out of business or of wanting to work less with the US. The best way to keep the US engaged is for Europeans to show that they can be stronger Allies by taking more security responsibility.

For Americans frustrated at Europeans’ lack of commitment to their own defence, this would be a European political undertaking which outlasts the ten year 2% of GDP defence spending pledge, and a welcome dose of realism about the time and effort required. Money alone won’t buy US love. What successive US administrations have sought is a strong Europe not a militarily dependent one.

For those Europeans frustrated at a perceived lack of autonomy, a roadmap to real, rounded European defence and security capabilities is better than more EU rhetoric.

What is needed is a serious commitment on both sides of the Atlantic to “unlock” the European assets now locked into NATO’s integrated military structure, and to create a genuine European defence and operational pillar as the basis for strategic autonomy. This would mean a major European investment in the sort of enabling capabilities on which Europe is so comfortably dependent on the US. Rather than Europeans just responding to pressure from President Trump on 2%, autonomy might be a goal that actually mobilises further burden-sharing.

Though NATO is far from “obsolete”, it was clear before Donald Trump took office that the transatlantic link cannot continue as is indefinitely. For the health of the transatlantic relationship, as well as the future of NATO, change is necessary, or the risk of obsolescence will become real.

Spelling out now that by 2049, a century after the US came enduringly to Europe’s rescue, Europe intends to stand on its own two feet, would do a power of good for the transatlantic, EU-NATO and intra-European defence debates. The EU and Europeans in NATO should stop travelling unconvincingly and instead set a destination, with a roadmap and timetable. Europe needs vision right now. And collective security is a good place to start.

 

Filed Under: News Update

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • qioptiq.com
  • Exensor
  • TCI
  • Visit the Oxley website
  • Visit the Viasat website
  • Blighter
  • SPECTRA
  • InVeris
  • Britbots logo
  • Faun Trackway
  • Systematic
  • CISION logo
  • ProTEK logo
  • businesswire logo
  • ProTEK logo
  • ssafa logo
  • DSEi
  • Atkins
  • IEE
  • EXFOR logo
  • KME logo
  • sibylline logo
Hilux DVD2022 GlobalMilSat

Contact Us

BATTLESPACE Publications
Old Charlock
Abthorpe Road
Silverstone
Towcester NN12 8TW

+44 (0)77689 54766

BATTLESPACE Technologies

An international defence electronics news service providing our readers with up to date developments in the defence electronics industry.

Recent News

  • EXHIBITIONS AND CONFERENCES

    August 5, 2022
    Read more
  • MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE

    August 5, 2022
    Read more
  • CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF

    August 5, 2022
    Read more

Copyright BATTLESPACE Publications © 2002–2022.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use the website, we'll assume you're ok with this.   Read More  Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT