by Josep Borrell Fontelles, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission (HR/VP), Brussels
It is time build the European Union (EU) into a real security provider. In response to a radically changing security environment, we are taking many steps to defend the security of our citizens and our partners, and act for global security.
Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has become the largest war in Europe since 1945, with hundreds of thousands killed and injured, and millions of displaced Ukrainians in and outside the country. In response, the EU and its Member States, with partners from around the world, rallied swiftly around Ukraine, providing unprecedented levels of military support, economic assistance, and humanitarian aid. The outbreak of war also saw the transatlantic alliance reinvigorated with
close EU-NATO cooperation and the United States’ commitment to European security reaffirmed.
A brutal wake-up call
Russia’s invasion has been a brutal wake-up call. It forced the EU to act rapidly and decisively. EU leaders immediately recognised it as a moment of truth for Europe and the wider rules-based international order. Accordingly, the EU and its Member States mobilised all tools at their disposal.
Crucially, the EU oversaw the first-ever joint financing and delivery of weapons and ammunition to a country under attack. For the first time ever, the EU took the decision to use the European Peace Facility (EPF) to pool funds and then reimburse Member States for their arms deliveries to Ukraine. By mobilising €5,6bn under the EPF, the EU has incentivised the delivery of military assistance by EU Member States of over €13bn so far.
In another historical first, the EPF was also used to fund the most ambitious training mission based on EU soil – the EU military assistance mission (EUMAM) for Ukraine. Launched on 15 November 2022, EUMAM will train 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of 2023 and, by mid-2023, had already completed training of some 24,000 troops in close coordination with partners such as the US, the UK, Norway and Canada. The innovative use of the EPF showed how the EU and its Member States can cooperate on defence with third states in the full range of support, from advice and training to supplying arms and ammunition at large scale.
The Strategic Compass – first results
The EU’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine also led to renewed impetus for the Union’s overall security and defence agenda. Indeed, just a few weeks after the Russian invasion, the EU adopted the “Strategic Compass”, a guiding framework for the EU’s security and defence up to 2030. It sets out concrete actions and timelines in four chapters entitled Act, Secure, Invest, and Partner with more than 80 specific deliverables, of which some 50 were to be implemented by the end of 2022.
In the first year of the Strategic Compass, there was already significant progress. The EU has become more effective in the deployment of its missions and operations, in terms of speed, flexibility and responsiveness. It also strengthened its ability to address threats and secure access to strategic domains such as cyber, space and maritime routes.
Member States decided to increase their defence spending and investments in an unprecedented manner. To be effective, they will need to ensure that more of that investment is spent jointly, i.e. together. To this end, in addition to co-financing defence R&D with the European Defence Fund (EDF), for the first time the Commission has proposed to incentivise short-term joint procurement of military equipment among Member States through the EU budget.
EU support to the EU defence industry, especially in ramping up production capacity, continues to be at the top of our agenda in 2023.
Ongoing EU missions and operations
While Ukraine rightly sits at the top of our agenda, the EU continues to be a security provider in other parts of the world. Drawing on civilian and military assets, the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) provides a comprehensive approach towards crisis management in 22 ongoing missions and operations, of which 13 civilian and 9 military, in which over 4,000 women and men support peace and security while building resilience in fragile societies in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The EU has launched for example a new CSDP mission in Armenia in January 2023. The EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA), is a civilian mission observing and reporting on the security situation along the Armenian side of the international border with Azerbaijan.
Providing answers in an unstable world
Europeans live in a world full of threats and challenges. Citizens, quite rightly, expect their political leaders to provide answers. Clear and stable majorities indicate that they want a greater role for the European Union in building a strong European security and defence policy. As the world becomes more unstable and unpredictable, Europeans must increase their collective investment in their common security. We have achieved quite a lot, but there is even more work to be done. ■
Josep Borrell Fontelles
is High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission since 2019. Previously, he was the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation (2018-2019), the Jean Monnet Chair of European Economic Integration at the Complutense University of Madrid (2013-2016), and the President of the European University Institute in Florence (2010-2012). He was also President of the European Parliament from 2004-2007. Previously to his political and diplomatic career, Mr Borrel was a professor at the Higher Technical School of Aeronautical Engineering and the Complutense University of Madrid (1972-1982).
