The times are changing: resetting CSDP and European Defence

  • Francisco de Borja Lasheras European Council on Foreign Relations’ Madrid Office (ECFR)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-50-2014pp77-103
Keywords: CSDP, strategic autonomy, power projection

Abstract

The EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) has not brought about the step change in European Defence hoped for by some of its proponents. It could not, given the EU’s very nature and the different security ambitions and priorities of Member States. It has a purpose, though, as a crisis management tool for soft security tasks, mostly through civilian missions. It can sometimes embody European solidarity for actions led by coalitions of willing Member States, most recently, in Sahel. Overall, Europe faces a strategic momentum, not least with the US pivoting towards Asia and core European players re-shifting policy priorities. The old goal of a fully autonomous European Defence will not come to pass anytime soon, as Europe’s defence crunch threatens to jeopardize even minimal goals of limited strategic autonomy. The way forward is a more flexible and realistic approach, emphasizing coherence between the different cooperation frameworks in Europe (NATO, EU, bilateral clusters, etc.), underpinned by stronger strategic convergence.

Received: 30 January 2014
Accepted: 12 February 2014
Published online: 15 April 2016

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Author Biography

Francisco de Borja Lasheras, European Council on Foreign Relations’ Madrid Office (ECFR)
Associate Director and Policy Fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Madrid Office (ECFR)
Published
2014-04-30
How to Cite
de Borja Lasheras, Francisco. 2014. “The Times Are Changing: Resetting CSDP and European Defence”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 50 (April), 77-103. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-50-2014pp77-103.
Issue
No. 50 (2014): 1988-2013 Grandes hitos de la construcción europea
Section
Articles

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