Emphasising that the EU’s role as a security and defence actor has been significantly strengthened since the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU Council called on the EU to increase its defence preparedness and strengthen its sovereignty through additional efforts.
“The EU must also improve its civil and military preparedness, taking into account the evolving threat landscape” and “redouble its efforts to prevent and respond to crises more rapidly in an integrated manner, in collaboration with its partners wherever possible, in order to maintain peace and strengthen the rule of law”, states the EU Council in the conclusions it adopted.
The EU Council highlights five key priorities for the period ahead, “in particular with a view to the next strategic programme”. This means unwavering EU support for Ukraine, spending more and better together, in particular by strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB), and increasing the EU’s capacity for action, including through CSDP missions, civilian CSDP and the future rapid reaction capability. To this must be added the strengthening of the EU’s resilience and the guarantee of access to strategic areas (cyberspace, space, the maritime domain, the air domain, but also climate), and finally, the establishment of partnerships, including with the UN and NATO.
The EU Council is also committed to military mobility in 2024. In an annex to the conclusions, it welcomes the commitment by Member States to implement four actions as soon as possible and no later than 2026, in accordance with national legislation and procedures, the constitutional requirements of individual Member States in respect of their national territory and military movements and transports, and their specific security and defence policies.
The actions focus on prioritising investment in dual-use transport infrastructure (1), facilitating, reinforcing and implementing the multimodal transport infrastructure and facilities required as part of a network approach along these corridors (2), granting authorisations for cross-border movements within a maximum of three working days (3), and taking forward efforts to consolidate coordination and cooperation mechanisms (4).
See the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/ce8 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)