A Europe of defence, despite everything

(B2) Critics of defense Europe are necessary. And this blog is no exception. There is no point in hiding behind your little finger and saying that everything is fine in the best of worlds. It would be an error not only of communication but also political.

Two crosses commonly used on European defense

There are two other pitfalls to avoid.

First, to see in "Brussels" a superpower - which wants to rule everything. It's the old British fantasy, regularly evoked and still developed at this peak (very timidly in fact!). Totally unreal fantasy, let's be clear.

Secondly, to estimate, jaded, that Defense Europe is screwed up, cooperation will never work, it is better to work nationally (because we are the best, huh!) or bilaterally (with really serious people ;-). A fairly common trend in France, especially in certain military circles who are satisfied with recent successes (and rightly so).

To all of these, we can say: they are on outdated paths. There is a certain Europe of defence, in its infancy, still unequal, and which is still seeking its way. And this is being built not so much on the operational aspect (the CSDP) - as was the underlying idea yesterday - but by the economy and industry.

Inward-looking or cooperation?

Faced with the crisis, five years ago, two options were possible: withdrawal or cooperation. In recent years, we have seen more of the tendency to withdraw into oneself. Everyone trying to manage as best they can, internally, bilaterally – the French with the British, the Germans with the Dutch, the Belgians in Benelux, the Czechs and the Slovaks, the Baltics and the Nordics, etc. And to generate budget cuts, more or less brutal, in all countries. But, today, we still have to save money. And we've exhausted all the "easy" recipes. There is no other way than to cooperate together... It's a little more complicated, it sometimes takes longer, but today it's the only possible result. This is the outcome of the Summit. And this is not negligible.

The beginning of awakening

Defense Europe is emerging from a "slow hibernation" comments a European diplomat. " A few years ago, this subject was regularly on the agenda of European summits” complete an old summit trucker. It took five years! Why this delay? We put the question to the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, who did not fail to respond with his usual irony. " ... But I remind you that for five years, we have had an economic crisis. And the survival of the Eurozone was more urgent to settle. Now that there is no longer any existential threat from the Eurozone, we can deal with other matters. » And for a year (and the mandate given by the Council in December 2012). “We worked well. With multiple contacts”...

All the work done upstream

Which is not an empty word... B2 witnessed it. You have to realize that, for a whole year, the CSDP gave rise to important work, often discreet but very real. The twelve Directorates-General of the Commission - directly or indirectly involved - have worked on options and ideas. " This is work never done in the European Commission, breaking down the "silos". Because this house too often works in silos » said the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Michel Barnier. « This time we tried to do the job from above ». The European Defense Agency has mobilized its forces. Ditto in the various departments of the European Diplomatic Service (EEAS) as in the ministerial cabinets at the national level and in the large industrial groups.

Everyone has phosphorus. And the work is not finished. Because a new appointment has already been set: in June 2015. And a series of reports still have to be submitted and discussed and intermediate steps have to be taken by then. (read on the Club: Conclusions of the Defense Summit (draft): the roadmap)

A paradigm shift

« We came out with big words or big declarations without too much of a future ” explains an expert on these files. « We must remember the declaration of 2008. It was a little Sarkozy, all alone, who had wanted to set important ambitions in terms of operations. There was no real debate ». Objectives "designed still on the early 2000s" so before the crisis. However, after Iraq and even more so Afghanistan, « nobody wants (and can't) carry out big operations anymore. (...) Everyone also realizes the limits of this type of commitment, which does not really make it possible to rebuild a State or stabilize a region. We are now more involved in missions aimed at supporting countries to ensure their own security, to be able to take over afterwards”.

Comments. No one dared to say so expressly. But if the goal of the summit should be summed up in a few words. We could take up an old central European proverb, «If your sword is too short, take it one step longer». Today a step has undoubtedly been taken. But it's only a step. No more...

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Read also our summary of published articles: Defense Summit on 19 and 20 December. Useful articles to read