On Wednesday 17 June, the Council of the EU said that today's global environment required “more European unity, solidarity and resilience”, with Member States working together for a strong EU that promotes peace and security and protects its citizens, thereby reinforcing the “European identity and its independence”.
In the conclusions they adopted, the relevant ministers for the Member States, participating by videoconference in an informal meeting of the Defence Council, underline the EU’s willingness to enhance its ability to act as a “security provider” through its operational engagement, to reinforce its resilience and preparedness to effectively address all security threats and challenges, and to step up the development of necessary capabilities. According to the ministers, most notably, this will help to strengthen the EU’s “strategic autonomy”.
The conclusions return to the ‘strategic compass’, on which the Council launched work on Tuesday (see EUROPE 12507/9) and which should be adopted in 2022. “This work will be based on current initiatives”, a European source said, adding that this way of thinking would make it possible to develop tools. A dozen European countries, including France and Germany, have put forward four priority areas for action in a reflection paper: crisis management, the organisation of the EU and its resilience, capacity building and partnership development.
The Council also calls for consideration to be given to strengthening the support of the armed forces for crisis management, but also to developing a common understanding of the mutual assistance clause (Article 42.7), in particular through exercises and scenarios. Continued efforts to strengthen the EU’s resilience and security culture against cyber and hybrid threats and to develop and enhance the security of its information and communication networks and systems are also encouraged.
Another area of work is operational engagement, in particular with regard to the issue of force generations, including battle groups and the chain of command.
The Council also calls for the strengthening of defence initiatives, including Permanent Structured Cooperation (PSC or PESCO) for which it hopes to reach agreement by the end of the year on the objectives and concrete results to be achieved for the 2021-2025 phase.
Money being the sinews of war, the conclusions call on the EU and the Member States to allocate adequate financial resources to the European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility, which the Council hopes to have ready by January 2021, as well as military mobility.
Finally, the Council promotes the development of partnerships, both with international and regional partner organisations, including NATO, and with partner countries.
See Council conclusions: https://bit.ly/2Nayr6k (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)