Proposals for Military Cooperation Divide EU

Defense ministers of the European Union ruled out any prospects of an EU military headquarters or permanent EU military force during informal talks in Bratislava on September 27, EU Observer reported. While defense ministers from the EU’s 28 member states agreed on the necessity of further cooperation in defensive measures, they were divided on recent proposals by France, Germany, and Italy to develop EU common defense capabilities. On September 12, France and Germany issued a joint-proposal which, according to EU Observer, includes propositions for a common budget for research and development, joint-procurement of new military technologies, common military planning and training, data exchange, and the development of deployable tactical groups. The most symbolic suggestion was the creation of a permanent European military headquarters. An Italian proposal unveiled two weeks later went even further, demanding the creation of a permanent European multinational force under EU command.

The proposals echoed calls from EU officials to strengthen the Union’s military capabilities. During his State of the Union speech on September 14, President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker supported the idea of a headquarters for the E.U. military. Similarly, on September 16, European Commissioner for Industry Elżbieta Bieńkowska announced that the EU was “considering pooling national budgets to fund common defense projects and issuing joint EU bonds,”  Reuters reported.

Yet those ambitious proposals found little success at the Bratislava meeting, where ministers agreed only on smaller projects such as joint investments in Europe’s arms industry and better planning for overseas missions. The United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Poland all rejected the symbolic project of a joint headquarters. France and Germany were the only active proponents, and Italy's proposal for a permanent force was not even discussed, according to EU Observer.

British Defense Minister Michael Fallon was the most vocal opponent of extensive cooperation, asserting that Britain would “continue to oppose any idea of an EU army or EU army headquarters, which would simply undermine NATO,” Politico reported on September 27. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg disagreed, saying,  “There is no contradiction between a strong European defense and a strong NATO; actually it reinforces each other [sic].”

Agreeing on the major threat facing the EU is another problem, senior lecturer in European Politics at the University of Newcastle Jocelyn Mawdsley told Deutsche Welle on September 27. With countries seeing either Russia, the refugee crisis, or foreign interventions as their main preoccupation, a common EU army appears an unlikely and “very long-term goal,” she said.

Proponents of increased military cooperation have not abandoned their hopes, however. The French-German and Italian proposals had already taken into account the unlikeliness of a EU-wide solution and called for the use of a European legal mechanism known as “Permanent Structured Cooperation.” This mechanism would enable a core group of EU nations to pursue further integration without involving unwilling nations. EU Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini agreed and prompted the development of a “two-speed EU on Defense,” with a “group of member states going ahead within the European framework.”