16/11/2018
For decades, Europe has been trying to chart a path away from the military competition and strategic rivalries that brought it to ruins so many times in history.
European strategic autonomy
Europe is faced with a degradation of its security environment, which affects all of the neighboring regional theaters and occurs along the entire conflict spectrum (Russian strategic resurgence, instability and civil wars around the Mediterranean Sea, changing patterns of jihadist terrorism, etc.), and with a growing uncertainty regarding the future commitment to European security of two critical allies, the United States and the United Kingdom. In this context, this program provides analytical support to the renewed European interest for defense, and to the attainment of the goal of strategic autonomy, as identified in the EU’s Global Strategy.
Its aims are:
- to provide substance to the concept of “European strategic autonomy” while contributing to the emergence of a European strategic thought on the use of force in the 21st century;
- to add to the ongoing debate on the degree of ambition for European countries in terms of strategic autonomy;
- to assess the capacity, in Europe, to generate military power, now and up to 2030-2040;
- to come up with a comprehensive overview of the existing capacities as well as the lacking areas, as of today and until 2030-2040 (trends, areas and degrees of dependence, etc.);
- to provide recommendations on key lines of effort, in terms of defense investment, operational and industrial cooperation as well as capability development.
Corentin BRUSTLEIN
Research fellow, Director of the Security Studies Center
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Barbara KUNZ
Research Fellow
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Vivien PERTUSOT
Associated Research Fellow
09/11/2018
The instruments of cooperative security created during and since the Cold War to foster mutual confidence and reduce the risks of war, inadvertent escalation, and arms races, in and around Europe, have come under increasing strain.
29/10/2018
The return of more conflictual relations between Russia and the West following Russia’s intervention in Eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea has led to a deterioration in the strategic environment for Northern European countries, particularly in the Baltic Sea Region and the Arctic.
24/07/2018
The 1970s were a decade of anti-war movements. Willy Brandt received the Nobel Peace Prize for his détente policy toward the Eastern Bloc – and West German defense spending peaked at 3.13 percent of GDP in 1975. Clearly, those days are long gone.
03/07/2018
The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) called for tailoring assurance across America’s allies, including NATO, as part of an overall deterrence and assurance strategy.
21/06/2018
In light of transatlantic tensions and a deteriorated security environment, European security affairs are at the crossroads.
12/04/2018
In 2016, the European Union issued its Global Strategy, the Union’s latest foreign and security policy strategy document. The strategy “nurtures the ambition of strategic autonomy for the European Union”. American policymakers’ feelings about these aspirations are, to say the least,...
16/02/2018
Transatlantic differences over the future of the Iran nuclear deal – or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of July 2015 – are damaging a nuclear accord that all parties, except the United States, see as delivering on its purpose. They also increase the risk of Washington and...
13/12/2017
How can France and Germany contribute to reaching the goal of European strategic autonomy? This key question has been guiding the work with the present report. In the light of a more demanding security environment, but also a rare momentum for further European integration, Berlin and...
20/07/2017
As the prospect of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union raises increasing challenges to its international position, as well as major divisions at home, the future of British defense policy seems more uncertain than ever.
23
Jan
2018
from 18:00 to 19:30
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
France, Germany, and the Quest for European Strategic Autonomy. Franco-German Defence Cooperation in a New Era
In the light of a more demanding security environment, but also a rare momentum for further European integration, Berlin and Paris are challenged to take their security and defence cooperation to the next level, bilaterally as well as in the EU. Progress in Franco-German security and...
05
Oct
2017
from Thursday 5 October 2017 14:30 to Friday 6 October 2017 13:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
QUAD 2017 Annual Meeting
Since 1983, the QUAD gathers every year, the SWP, RAND Corporation, Chatham House and Ifri.
05
Sep
2017
from 18:00 to 19:30
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
Where is the OSCE headed? Achievements and dividing lines since 2014
The Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) used to carry the promise of a paneuropean security order. It is the only Euroatlantic security organization in which the “West” and Russia can cooperate on an equal footing.
28
Apr
2015
from 10:30 to 14:30
NATO's Framework Nations Concept: The Panacea?
This expert seminar gathered officials from national ministries of defense, national delegations to NATO, officials from NATO, the EDA, and the EEAS, as well as experts. The objective was to discuss the ambitions of the framework nations concept for framework nations as well as for partner...
14
Apr
2015
from 17:30 to 19:00
Quel avenir pour la défense européenne ?
Rencontre-débat animée par Marc Hecker, rédacteur en chef de la revue Politique étrangère.
...
10
Oct
2014
from 11:00 to 16:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
Franco-British cooperation in the broader picture: Going beyond the bilateral dimension?
This expert seminar aims to address Franco-British defence cooperation in the broader context. It is organised by the Institut français des relations internationales and the Centre for European Reform.
02
Jul
2014
from 14:00 to 17:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
European Defence: Planning for What?
This expert seminar focused on the planning processes within the European Defence Agency and NATO. It gathered officials from NATO, the EDA, the EEAS, national delegations to the EU and NATO, as well as experts.
03/06/2018
Nicolas Sarkozy used to promote himself as a transatlanticist or anglophile French president. Emmanuel Macron seems to have taken this approach a step further. Macron appears to have taken upon France and himself the responsibility of not allowing Britain and more importantly, the United...
09/12/2015
The offer of active military support to France in Syria or in the Sahel by several European member states is likely to overshadow the absence of meaningful commitment from others. On balance, the picture will not be too disheartening for supporters of the EU: its foreign and security policy...
01/06/2015
L'Allemagne a annoncé qu'elle allait publier en 2016 un nouveau Livre blanc sur la défense. Cet exercice pourrait illustrer que les signaux positifs, mais dispersés, lancés par l'Allemagne depuis un peu plus d'un an auguraient d'un réel changement de posture stratégique, gage d'une reprise...
23/03/2015
Many national perspectives published in this series share a similar analysis of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP): it is underperforming and needs to be adapted. However, the...