Ahead of a forthcoming debate on Implementation of the EU’s common foreign and security policy in Strasbourg next week, a report by the highly influential Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has said that it regrets that there is no “structured EU-UK cooperation in the area of foreign, security, and defence policy.”
The report, authored by German MEP David McAllister (pictured), the chair of the committee, unequivocally states that in the area of defence the EU’s future lies with NATO, and calls for better “collaboration and burden sharing”.
It also highlights the need to make the EU “a more capable and credible strategic partner for its allies, including NATO and the U.S,” and lauds future mechanisms for cooperation with the UK.
It was noticeable that when McAllister’s report was passed by the committee in November of last year, it had overwhelming approval, with only two MEPs voting against: Gunner Beck of the Kremlin-friendly Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), and Helmut Scholz of DER LINKE, considered to be the direct descendant of the Marxist–Leninist ruling party of the former East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.
As EU Today columnist Chris White has pointed out previously, French President Emanuel Macron is calling for the EU to have its own “strategic autonomy” in defence: “Europe needs to finally build its own collective security framework on our continent,” he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg in January of last year.
However, as Chris pointed out in an article on this very issue as recently as January 29th, “lack of European Unity is a feature of the Continent’s history.”
Realistically, we can assume as the pragmatic David McAllister clearly does, that the EU’s defences are best served through NATO engagement.
- Europe’s continued dependency on war-time allies for its defence
- Boris Johnson calls for Europe to “hold firm” in face of Russian threats
- Majority of Europeans believe Russia will invade Ukraine, poll shows
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