On Thursday 2 July, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, stressed the importance for the EU to have a capacity for autonomous defence action.
"France and the EU must have the capacity to act in the name of strategic autonomy, which is absolutely essential for us in a world (...) where the superpowers are fighting a battle over the heads of Europeans", she stressed at a hearing before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence. "We have a shared political objective: to mobilise for our own defence, we must be able to ensure our protection", she added.
Mrs Parly therefore advocated the construction of a Europe of Defence, which in her view meant "enjoying full European freedom of action". "If we share the same challenges and are threatened by the same actors, then why not share the means to defend ourselves?", she wondered. She put forward three main lines of action: developing a common vision, acquiring the capacity to act and developing technological mastery with the development of a European industry.
According to the Minister, the very existence of the European Defence Fund (EDF) is "a paradigm shift, a real revolution". While the Commission's latest proposal raises the fund to 9 billion, she felt that more money would be needed because "we need this fund to be ambitious, now more than ever". Asked about the participation of non-Member States in the EDF, Mrs Parly said it was extremely important that European funds should benefit European companies, saying that this was about the proper use of funds and not about protectionism.
The Minister also returned to practical cooperation between Europeans in the context of EU missions or between Member States, such as the European Intervention Initiative, which brings together 12 Member States, or the Takuba force. Mrs Parly announced that "this summer, Takuba will deploy to accompany local armies into combat. Within a few days the Estonians will join this force and soon they will be joined by the Czechs and Swedes". She hoped the Italians and the Greeks would join them.
The Minister also returned to the altercation between French and Turkish ships participating in the NATO Sea Guardian operation. "What happened is very serious. We're supposed to be an alliance and an ally that breaks the rules, that's not acceptable", she warned. While an investigation within NATO is under way, France has decided to leave the operation until further notice, as long as these four requests have not been met: the solemn reaffirmation of the respect of the arms embargo on Libya, the categorical rejection of NATO's indicators for conducting trafficking, better cooperation between EU and NATO missions and the establishment of a deconfliction mechanism. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)