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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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One of these reports relates to defence, and will
be published in June. It is to be hoped that it will
explain in detail the European Commission’s un-
derstanding of what constitutes defence policy.
Why we need to strengthen defence policy
In my opinion, there are at least five reasons for
strengthening an autonomous defence policy:
– The gradual escalation of risks and threats in
neighbouring regions (noted above) which
shows no signs of slowing. These are risks
and threats not just to individual member
states but to the EU as a whole, to its politi-
cal and social model, and to the values that
underpin it. A collective response is there-
fore required.
– A global political player must be responsible
for its own defence and cannot subcontract
it to others, as currently occurs with NATO.
If it wishes to be an independent player, the
EU must take responsibility for defending its
citizens and its territory.
– As we have seen, the Treaty of Lisbon estab-
lished the legal basis for developing and
consolidating such a policy. Now what is
needed is the political will to implement the
instruments required to achieve this goal.
– The Global Strategy on Foreign and Security
Policy, which contains the principle of strate-
gic autonomy, transforms the legal obliga-
tion to defend citizens and territories into a
political commitment. The purpose of de-
fence policy measures is to make this com-
mitment a reality.
– Over recent years, and in particular since
2015, internal and external security have be-
come increasingly linked, with the result that
defence policy is a necessary component of
anti-terrorism strategies. In this case, the
two areas are opposite sides of the same
coin.
Why do we need a defence policy? To con-
solidate the EU as a global, normative and dip-
lomatic player with an increasing role in global
governance, providing the external dimension
of the EU’s internal model. It is important to
note that defence policy is not an adjunct of
foreign policy, but rather an essential means of
ensuring that the global actor can operate with-
out its activity being constantly conditioned by
military pressures. The EU’s presence in the
world will never be the result of its military ca-
pacity but will instead reflect the defence of its
values and interests and its social model,
through such instruments as trade and cultural,
humanitarian and development policies.
However, for this to be possible the EU needs a
collective defence that enables it to act in the
world.
Conclusion: the need to formulate a
genuinely autonomous defence policy for
the EU
Throughout this chapter, we have seen that de-
fence policy and shared defence represent a
European aspiration that goes back almost 70
years. This both reflects a general need and has
been conditioned by specific international fac-
tors. Today, international factors are still driving
both the move towards deeper integration (in
this case, particularly Brexit and the election of
Trump) and the development of defence policy
(the problem of ISIS and the Russian threat).
Recently, with French activation of the de-
fensive clause, it has become clear that the
CSDP should not be concerned solely with civil
crisis operations and foreign military endeav-
ours but should also strive to defend the EU’s