The EU’s quest for strategic autonomy and transatlantic relations

Abstract

Since the launch of the 2016 EU Global Strategy, the concept of EU strategic autonomy (EU-SA) has taken centre stage in EU policy discourse. It has rapidly shifted from an initial narrow emphasis on defence to encompass a wider range of issues, such as energy security, health, supply chains, technology, and human rights. Focusing specifically on defence, this dissertation has posited that although each EU Member State holds a distinct position on the EU-SA, shaped mainly by national foreign policy security interests, these diverse stances can be grouped into four positions. The ‘continentalist’ group believe that EU Member States should take control of their security affairs by achieving strategic autonomy. The ‘Atlanticist’ group argues that trying to achieve EU-SA might lead to undesirable tensions with the US that could trigger American disengagement from Europe. The third group, referred to as the ‘centrists’, adopts a middle-of-the-road approach. Finally, a fourth group is made up of the EU-neutral Member States. Using a qualitative data collection approach, and the investigation of the stances on EU-SA held by nine EU Member States, this study concluded that while EU-SA is viewed as an advantageous and mutually beneficial objective by the majority of EU Member States, it remains to date a desirable but unattainable objective. This unattainability stems primarily from the absence of a suitable nuclear deterrence in the EU and insufficient defence spending. With a view to finding a way out of this stalemate, this dissertation confirms four possibilities, some of which have been recommended by the European Commission. Firstly, EU Member States need to increase defence spending. Secondly, they need to source their weapons from the EU’s military-industrial complex, which needs to be integrated and rationalised to make it economically viable. Thirdly, the Members States must step up their level of coordination; and fourthly, the neutral EU Member States need to clarify their position on EU-SA. Although the EU has made progress in all of these areas, at present it still falls short of achieving EU-SA.