The European defence is not only a defence policy, nor the protection of territory. It is above all a political project, in constant evolution, aimed at asserting Europe’s place in the world, in the service of its foreign policy.
This project is based on a decision-making structure that allows the EU to carry out crisis management operations, and which now wants to fully support the defence industry.
To understand how this European defence works, you have to know its key players.
In this background paper, Sierra Tango explains the role and competencies of the European institutions.
THE CENACLE OF THE 27
The first part of this background paper is dedicated to the “cenacle” of the 27 Member States of the European Union in its different formats: the European Council and the Council of the European Union.
At the highest political level, there is the European Council, where the Heads of State and Presidents of the EU sit. They are the ones who set the common strategies and the EU general guidelines.
The European Council “identifies the strategic interests of the Union, sets the objectives and defines the general guidelines of the common foreign and security policy, including for matters having defence implications” defines Article 25 of the Treaty of the EU (TEU).
In the past, defence was on the agenda of the European Council once or twice a year. Now it happens more often.
It should be noted that some countries and leaders have had a particular role of impetus but the logic of intergovernmental negotiations, and therefore unanimity, is the rule.
The Council of the EU shares the power of initiative with the High Representative of the Union (whose role we will study in the second part of this background paper).
Once a month, the Foreign Ministers of the Member States meet to deal with all matters relating to the EU’s external action, including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Their defence colleagues join them, informally, twice a year.
The function of the Council of the EU is to take “the decisions necessary for the definition and implementation” of the CSDP, “on the basis of the general guidelines and strategic lines defined by the European Council”.
It is, for instance, the ministers who give the go-ahead to the launch of EU military missions and operations and decide on their development.
The Council of the EU shares the power of initiative with the High Representative of the Union (whose role we will study in the second part of this background paper).
Once a month, the Foreign Ministers of the Member States meet to deal with all matters relating to the EU’s external action, including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Their defence colleagues join them, informally, twice a year.
The function of the Council of the EU is to take “the decisions necessary for the definition and implementation” of the CSDP, “on the basis of the general guidelines and strategic lines defined by the European Council”.
It is, for instance, the ministers who give the go-ahead to the launch of EU military missions and operations and decide on their development.
Ministers also adopt European sanctions, or even validate, with the European Parliament, regulations and legislative texts (proposed by the European Commission) allowing the launch of new initiatives such as the European Defence Fund.
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A EUROPEAN DEFENCE DRIVEN BY A CORE GROUP OF MEMBER STATES
Whether in the European Council or the Council of the EU, new policies are very often driven by a hard core of member states. The fact remains that the more or less active participation of a large group of States is essential to ensure that the decisions taken are long-lasting.
THE EXAMPLE OF PERMANENT STRUCTURED COOPERATION: AN INITIATIVE OF THE FRANCO-GERMAN COUPLE
In June 2016, France and Germany gave new impetus to the European defence by designing a European security pact made up of 20 proposals. One of them is the creation of a permanent structured cooperation, or PESCO, the aim of which is to grant groups of Member States the possibility of cooperating in a reinforced manner – i.e. beyond the basic common European – in the field of defence.
Over the course of the negotiations in the Foreign Affairs Council, the list of countries wishing to join France and Germany in this initiative is gradually growing, reaching 23 Member States in June 2017.
Officially launched in June 2017, PESCO currently covers 60 cooperation projects.
THE INVOLVEMENT OF A CO-LEGISLATOR: THE CASE OF THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE FUND
The pact presented in 2016 also includes the European Defence Fund, an initiative supported for a long time by France.
After a few months of negotiations between the 27 Member States, the new funding program was officially launched in June 2017. However, it requires its own legal basis, involving a long process of negotiations between the Council of the EU and the co-legislator, the European Parliament, on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission. The legal texts will therefore be adopted in the spring of 2021 and the first edition of the European Defence Fund will be a great success with 142 proposals submitted by nearly 700 entities from 26 Member States (see our article)
It should be noted that the will of the representatives of the Member States is generally not enough to initiate large-scale European dynamics. They must benefit from the impetus of the High Representative of the European Union. We will examine its particular role in the second part of this background paper.
The technical bodies
To carry out its work, the Council of the Union relies on three main politico-military bodies:
Created in 2000, it is within the PSC that the decisions of European defence are worked on and drawn up by the ambassadors of the Member States.
Ambassadors carry out discreet, continuous and central work upstream of political decision-making, embodying the desire to build a culture of compromise.
The PSC relies in its task on the EUMC, composed of the Chiefs of Staff of the Member States or their military representatives.
It provides recommendations and opinions on military issues, planned missions and operations, and approves the “concepts” that make up the EU intervention doctrine.
It has three main functions: early warning, situation assessment and strategic planning for EU missions.
It is also responsible for implementing agreed policies and decisions. As such, it contributes in particular to the process of developing, evaluating and reviewing objectives in terms of military capabilities.
The EUMC and the EUMS formally belong to the European External Action Service (EEAS), placed under the leadership of the High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission.
Second part of this background paper available soon.
