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From border controls to a European army
European Geostrategy | 16:36, 10 March 2010
By Christos Katsioulis, Christoph Pohlmann and Borja Lasheras
One Vienna-based Spanish diplomat likes to describe European Union’s security and defence policy in action as a ‘jazz band, not a classical orchestra: musicians with different abilities and instruments participating in a permanent jam session, with a basic tune and a general idea of the kind of music they want to produce [. . .] a band which finds it hard to agree on a specific arrangement, but which can eventually sound harmonious – though not necessarily completely homogeneous.’ The band is well known among music connoisseurs, while the general public either ignores it or is bemused by the strange sound. Other – more successful – bands, on the other hand, praise some of their individual qualities, as well as the fact that they do play (some kind of) music, despite all the problems, whilst grinning at its lack of success. That is a fairly good description of the European Union’s overall performance as an actor on the global stage during the rather unstable decade we are about to leave behind: some tactical achievements, the valuable experience of learning on the job as a European Union twenty-seven, but with a pervading sense of a lack of direction.
The Treaty of Lisbon should put an end to the European cacophony or to put it another way: make the very richness of European pluralism in foreign policy an effective added-value element for the European Union as an actor – and not a permanent hindrance. The new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, should conduct the idiosyncratic music group. A chorus of the best diplomats throughout Europe should support her in the demanding task to produce some music: the European External Action Service. But the post-Lisbon reality is different: the Commission, the General Secretariat of the Council as well as the Member States haggle over personnel and finances, trying to get hold of that future backbone of European foreign policy. The only ray of hope is the role of the European Parliament. It has used the current power vacuum in Brussels and seized its way into the realm of foreign and security policy, not formally and through legal novelties, but by adeptly using its budget powers as well as the expertise of the parliamentarians. In fact, this revamped Parliament carries with it the potential to energise the strategic culture among Europeans, and, not less, building a strong democratic legitimacy to the European Union’s developing security policy.
Accordingly, the European Union is (again) dealing with inner-European issues – the self-centred approach, we all complained about over the last years. The problem is only, that the world moves on, even if the European Union is not yet ready to face that. Transatlantic relations serve as a vivid example: Barack Obama skipped the European-American summit to be held by the Spanish presidency in Madrid in May 2010. It became known that the president regarded this meeting with twenty-seven heads of states and governments (plus the representatives of the European Union) as boring and non-productive. From a certain point of view, this could be taken as a snub. However, it may be just seen as a wake-up call. The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, reaffirmed the message just a few days ago , and emphasising the great expectations the United States pins on the new so-called Common Security and Defence Policy. She offered the European Union direct partnership with the United States in security-related issues – something that until now has been the exclusive realm of the Atlantic Alliance. Probably even this call will trail off unheard and unanswered, because the European Union still does not know exactly, who could be speaking for the Union: the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso? The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy? Or the High Representative? Apart from that, there is also no guidance at the European level, in terms of overall priorities and means to achieve them, apart from the brilliantly formulated but rather fuzzy European Security Strategy from 2003 (plus the Implementation Report of 2008).
This is not enough for a European Union, which is widely regarded as a global actor. Nor it is up to the responsibilities Europe as a whole has towards the international system; as the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, put it in Munich, both the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance are seen by the international community as providers of security. How can the European Union contribute through its civilian and military capabilities to maintain peace and security in an increasingly unstable environment – and thus make Europeans safer?
Yet there still is a huge strategic vacuum in the Common Security and Defence Policy: there is no ‘Grand Strategy’ and there is not even any operationalisation of the Security Strategy. Nonetheless the European Union has already conducted more than twenty missions worldwide. We therefore lack an ambitious but realistic policy orientation for the European Union as a global actor; we have not yet undertaken a Strategic Defence Review or – to use the continental term – a White Paper on Security and Defence. Such a White Paper should lay down our ambitions as a relevant power in security policy as well as a road map on how to achieve these ambitions:
Catherine Ashton, the new ‘conductor’ of European foreign and security policy, has quite a hard task. The European Union’s difficult worldwide challenges, the constant disunity of the Member States, as well as the huge footsteps of Javier Solana she is following, are demanding beyond description. By initiating a European process towards a Security and Defence White Paper, she could provide a consistent policy orientation and thus build on the rather successful achievements on the nearly eleven years of European Security and Defence Policy. This policy orientation could be used as a ‘sheet of music’ for her Jazz band. She will probably never transform it into a chamber orchestra, but maybe they would produce eventually one or two smash hits per year. And this will be in the interest of Europe as a whole, although some governments are slow to grasp the realities of the modern world, and try to get with their own music into the chart list.
European Geostrategy | 1:19, 7 March 2010

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European Geostrategy | 13:44, 26 February 2010

President Herman Van Rompuy is often poked as a figure of fun. But does his first speech on foreign and security policy reflect a closet Machiavellian, plotting and strategising to flesh out the European interest?
European Geostrategy | 22:42, 24 February 2010

Much has recently been said about the creation of a permanent military headquarters for the European Union. In this article, we explore the reasons as to why such an institution is desirable, for the sake of the improvement of European military command and control.
Jaanika Erne | 1:13, 19 February 2010

When I attended the course “United Nations and International Law”, read by Lauri Mälksoo at the University of Tartu, we were shown a film about international conflict resolution, the UN, and the global politics. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the film, although I believe that it is quite a well-known one. Though cluster bombs were not [...]
European Geostrategy | 0:51, 18 February 2010

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European Geostrategy | 20:43, 6 January 2010
The last decade was very eventful. The age was defined by Islamist terrorism, military intervention and economic globalisation, and often seemed to be running on fast forward. What will happen in the next ten years? Here are ten predictions!
European Geostrategy | 18:26, 28 December 2009

Russia is keen to buy a powerful amphibious warship from France to assert its geostrategic interests around its borders. If France accepts the offer, how will this impact on Russian-European relations, especially in light of Russia’s intentions in the Baltic and Black Sea regions?
European Geostrategy | 12:00, 15 December 2009

What does Afghanistan (and by implication, Pakistan) mean for Europeans? Is the threat posed by both merely transnational in nature, or does it also contain a geopolitical dimension? And how should Europeans respond? What conceptual changes are required to make the European Union more effective in this region?
civiliancrisismanagement | 17:31, 10 December 2009
While security policy-makers focus on Afghanistan, EULEX remains the EU’s biggest and most complex ESDP engagement. One year after the mission’s launch, Kosovo’s future remains uncertain.
Given Kosovo’s unresolved international status, EULEX did not have an easy start. Only the EU’s long-term commitment to stabilise the Western Balkans, and extensive preparations since 2006 ensured that a [...]
European Geostrategy | 14:09, 28 November 2009

Now that the Treaty of Lisbon has entered force, the European Union should begin developing a more cohesive and active Grand Strategy. The new High Representative, working in partnership with the other European institutions, should be tasked with this endeavour, to enable Europeans to speak with a louder voice in the twenty-first century.
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