Building a European defence capability

Abstract

For much of the 1990s, the US and the EU have been trying to define a new transatlantic bargain that balances Europe's desire for a broader and more independent political role with its continued reliance on US and NATO military capabilities. The goal is a European security and defence identity that allows the EU to conduct military missions with command structures, forces and assets that are normally assigned to NATO. Four practical steps are necessary. First, the Western European Union (WEU) should be abolished and its functions divided between the EU and NATO. Second, European militaries must enhance their capability for projecting and sustaining power. Third, NATO's military structure should be adapted to incorporate French participation, even without the full reintegration of France into NATO. Finally, these steps are unlikely to lead very far unless the Americans and Europeans can establish better patterns for managing inevitable transatlantic disagreements over crises like Bosnia or Iraq.