by Dr Ronja Kempin, Senior Fellow at EU/Europe Research Group, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin For a long time, the German federal government, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, found it difficult to discuss Europe’s “strategic autonomy” in the Common Foreign Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Representatives of the outgoing government avoided…
The EU has to shoulder more responsibility for security and order in its near abroad by Christian Schmidt, former German Federal Minister, President of the German Atlantic Association and High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo The 2020 US election marked an important change in transatlantic relations. Contrary to his predecessor, President Joe Biden sees the EU…
The failure of the NATO concept in Afghanistan Interview with General (ret) Harald Kujat, former German Chief of Defence and Chairman NATO Military Committee, Berlin The European: General Kujat, in politics, a thin line separates victory from defeat. Any military intervention has to be carefully weighed up and armed forces should only be engaged if, on…
by Camille Grand, Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment, NATO, Brussels We face a challenging security environment marked by systemic competition from assertive powers, instability near Europe’s borders, terrorism, cyber-attacks, disinformation, and much more. This year, NATO leaders took the decisions needed to strengthen our Alliance in light of these threats and to prepare it for…
Interview with Professor Dr Hans-Gert Pöttering, former President of the European Parliament, Berlin The European: Professor Pöttering, what was your first thought when you heard US President Joe Biden, on the occasion of his visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels some months ago, say that “America is back again”? Hans-Gert Pöttering: We all were happy to hear…
In Brussels, the old Greek saying that progress is only stimulated by crises carries weight. The fact that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is taking her leave of the circle of EU leaders after 16 years has been taken with equanimity in Brussels, in the knowledge that her departure will not provoke an internal crisis…
by Kaan Savul, Head of International Cooperation and Global Affairs, Ecolog Deutschland, Düsseldorf To the many entrenched global inequalities – wealth distribution, education attainment, life expectancy and human rights – we can now add access to safe, effective vaccinations. In many developed countries, 80% or more of the adult population has now received two Covid-19…
by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, President of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris European judges are being criticised by European populists for undermining the “legal sovereignty” of EU member states. The law has become an electoral issue and the most far-fetched promises and assertions flourish in the public debate. Two courts are now at issue: the European Court…
by Israel Rafalovich, Journalist, BrusselsDefence strategists and planners are confronted to a rapidly approaching future with a new war fighting regime where unmanned and autonomous systems play central roles. For politicians and military strategists with tight budgets, robots are popular especially with military interventions in foreign countries becoming less popular. Military experts see robotics as…
by Patrick Bellouard, former Président EuroDéfense France, Paris, and Cyrille Schott, Préfet (h) de Région, member of EuroDéfense France, Strasbourg The Franco-German engine is essential for Europe, including in armament cooperation. However, this engine, in the field of defence, stumbles upon difficulties. Different strategic objectives In Germany, the tradition of strategic restraint, coupled with close…