EU’s defence looking towards NATO and the East

In light of the forthcoming EU-NATO EU-NATO Summit in Madrid (June 29-30) and the signing of the third EU-NATO joint declaration, Thomas Sohst, President of CESI’s Expert Commission ‘Defence’ declared:

“For the EU to become a credible and efficient security and defence global actor, the Union should focus on two pillars – getting its citizens in line with a common position regarding the deployment of military forces and providing the necessary financial investments for its capabilities. The implementation of the Strategic Compass, in particular with regards to its operational capability through a Rapid Deployment Capacity, should be the first priority. The re-assessment or revision of current European missions and operations must consider the Russian aggression and the threat it brings to global peace.”

He added: “The next steps to foster a genuine EU defence policy will include the strengthening the EU’s neighbouring policy and the relation with the six countries included in the Eastern Partnership (EaP): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.”

Apart from the European Parliament’s recommendation of June 8, also the previously adopted Euroepan Parliament report on the security in the Eastern Partnership area and the role of the Common Security and Defence Policy refers to this subject matter.