Determining the starting level of ambition by mid-November for the further development of Defence Europe is the main difficulty confronting EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, after she consulted EU defence ministers in Bratislava on Tuesday 27 September on their ideas on how to deliver the security and defence strand of the overall EU strategy (see EUROPE 11581).
Several set out their ideas in informal documents on how to translate Defence Europe and the common security and defence policy (CSDP) into definite projects. However, it was on the proposals developed jointly by France and Germany (see EUROPE 11623) – the ministers of both of which sought in Bratislava to show their unity and their willingness to be the drivers of change in European defence – that the attention of the informal meeting chaired by Mogherini was centred. The meeting was described by the high representative as “exceptional”, probably because it provided more ideas than usual.
The Franco-German ideas, which include the creation of permanent headquarters in Brussels for all EU operations and missions, did not receive unanimous backing but there was consensus on which to build. The possibility that some member states turn to Permanent Structured Cooperation (PSC), that will allow a reduced number to press on together, remains, nevertheless, on the table. This is an option that could be used for certain projects – though not by 27 member states simply to circumvent the United Kingdom, Mogherini stated after the meeting.
The idea of permanent headquarters is symbolic because, on the one hand, it has always been vetoed by the UK. On his arrival in Bratislava, UK minister Michael Fallon repeated his opposition. He said he feared unnecessary duplication with what NATO does. However, with the prospect of Brexit, this traditional UK position no longer has the same weight. It derives from a fear that would seem unfounded, and it was NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in person who made this clear in Bratislava, stressing that a strong Defence Europe could only be good for his organisation and transatlantic relations.
On the other, this idea is consistent with the other proposals, which all have in common that they are in line with provisions contained in the Lisbon Treaty. Making use of existing (at least on paper) tools and instruments will be the starting point for the work now to be done by the high representative to devise an implementation plan, a roadmap with definite priority projects. The aim is for this plan to be approved by ministers at their formal meeting on 15 November before December’s European Council provides the necessary political impetus.
The insistence with which the hope .is stated that present discussions remain within the framework of the existing treaties has a dual objective. It will make the desired progress on European defence easier by insisting that the ambition does not exceed what the member states signed up to almost 10 years ago. And at the same time, it is to put an end to the nonsense purveyed by a section of the press as well as by London, that a European army is about to be put in place, sounding the death knell of national defence capabilities. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)