GETTING SERIOUS ON EUROPEAN DEFENCE?
ASPIRATIONS, POLITICS, CAPABILITIES
Wednesday,16November2016|18:00-20:00
RenaissanceConferenceCenter|Brussels
Security and defence are once again high on the European agenda. Increasing security threats at the EU
borders, and the result of the UK referendum on Brexit, have prompted initiatives to advance European
security and defence cooperation. Proposals have been put forward by the High Representative in the new
EU Global Strategy as well as jointly by the German and French governments and the Italian
government. The European Parliament is working on a report on a European Defence Union and the
European Commission is preparing a European Defence Action Plan. Ideas include a European Military
Headquarter, the scale-up of EUROCORPS, permanent own European forces, measures to foster
cooperation and inter-operability of national forces as well as incentives to the defence industry and
funding for R&D projects.
The day after the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council that should discuss implementation plans in this
field, the European Federalists will bring together MEPs, EU officials and defence experts from different
backgrounds to explore the political and institutional aspects of the proposals on the table as well as the
related military/operational and industrial issues. Focus will be on how to bridge needs and aspirations with
capabilities and political challenges.
SPEAKERS
ELMAR BROK is a German Member of the European Parliament from the
European People’s Party and currently President of the Union of European
Federalists. He is the longest serving member of the European Parliament,
being a member uninterruptedly since 1980. He is the Chairman of the
European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. He has been one of
the representatives of the European Parliament in several
intergovernmental conferences for past EU Treaties and in the Convention
that prepared the draft EU Constitutional Treaty. As Chairman of the
Foreign affairs Committee for many years, he has been and is the face of
the European Parliament in a number of foreign policy missions around
the world.
Gen. VICENZO CAMPORINI is former Chief of the Defence General
Staff of the Italian Ministry of Defence and Vice President of the Istituto
Affari Internazionali (IAI), an Italian think-tank specialised in international
affairs. He spent his life in the military, mainly in the Italian Air Forces,
where he was first Chief of General Staff of the Italian Air Forces and then
in 2008-2011 Chief of the Defence General Staff, the highest military
official in the Italian Ministry of Defence with the overall responsibility for
the Italian military forces. He has an extensive operational experience in
Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo, Mediterranean and Africa and has been
directly involved in previous projects of integration in the field of EU
defence.
SYLVIA HARTLEIF is the Head of the Foreign Policy team of the
European Commission's European Political Strategy Centre. Prior to joining
the European Commission she was a senior advisor to the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the German Bundestag for nine years and secretary of the
Sub-Committee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Her
earlier professional commitments include the Parliamentary Assembly of
NATO and the World Bank. She is a member of the German Council on
Foreign Relations and a Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall
Fund of the United States.
URMAS PAET is an Estonian politician, former Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Estonia from 2005 to 2014. Since 2014 he is a member of the European
Parliament, sitting with in the group of the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe (ALDE). In the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs
Committee he is the rapporteur of a report on a European Defence Union,
which is setting out the European Parliament’s proposal to progress
European defence.
LUIS SIMON is the Director of the Brussels Office of the Real Instituto
Elcano, a major Spanish think-tank specialised in international studies. He
is also Professor of International Relations at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
where he specialises in geopolitics and international security. He has been
a visiting fellow at the Universities of Columbia and Johns Hopkins, the
Royal United Services Institute (London), the Fondation pour la Recherche
Stratégique (Paris), the EU Institute for Security Studies and visiting
professor at the NATO School, the European Security and Defence College,
l'Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the US Army War College and the
Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS’ FIVE PROPOSALS
FOR EUROPEAN DEFENCE
Europe’s security environment has changed dramatically in the past few years. Russia’s aggressiveness, the
persistent instability in the Middle-East and North-Africa, increased terrorist threats, new geopolitical
uncertainty following the UK referendum and the result of the US elections, all call for the European Union to
face its responsibilities in security and defence.
Closer defence integration would bring more security for European citizens, more stability at the EU borders,
more efficient military spending, and a stronger voice for the EU at global level. A strong European defence
would complement and strengthen NATO, leading to a more robust and balanced transatlantic relation and a
better effectiveness of NATO in the regions bordering the European Union.
The recent proposals by the High Representative as well as the recent initiatives by the French, German and
Italian Governments go all in the right direction. They should be pursued without delay. However, the priority
should be to move beyond a simple increase of intergovernmental cooperation among
Member States – which has proven its limits time and again – towards true European
capabilities and strategic autonomy.
1.
A Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), as provided in the Lisbon Treaty, should be
established to enable the group of EU Member States willing to proceed with closer defence integration
to do so.
2.
A single Permanent Military Headquarter should be created, with the responsibility to plan and run
all EU military missions. It should be headed by a Military Operations Commander. It should complement
the EU Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability. It should enable the EU, when necessary, to respond to
crises without relying exclusively on NATO. It should be able to support the newly established European
Border and Coast Guard Agency.
3.
EU permanent multi-national forces should be established, to be deployed in EU missions and
operations upon decision of the Council of Defence Ministers (to be set up). As a first step they could
consist of and integrate all military and civilian resources currently engaged in EU and UN missions as well
as the EU Battlegroups, which should all be put at the permanent disposal of the EU. Such permanent
forces should gradually grow and integrate a greater number of forces, assets and capabilities of the
participating Member States. Eventually, with a Treaty revision, they should become own permanent
integrated EU forces.
4.
A European Fund for Defence should be created, financed by own resources (which could include an
own defence tax) and/or by Eurobonds that could be issued by the EU or by the Member States
participating in the Permanent Structured Cooperation. The fund could initially finance research and
development projects in the field of defence to acquire and develop EU defence technologies and
capabilities. Prospectively it could fund the acquisition of infrastructural assets at the European level, the
operation of the Permanent EU Military headquarter and the funding of EU missions and operations,
taking over the related expenses of the Member States.
5.
An enhanced political union will be required to achieve a true European Defence Union and ensure
the democratic accountability of further defence integration. The European Parliament should be fully
involved in defence matters, starting by upgrading the subcommittee on Security and Defence to a fullyfledged committee. A Council configuration of Defence Ministers should be created and chaired by the
High Representative. At the next Treaty revisions, the decision-making process should shift from
unanimity to qualified majority voting and the European Parliament should be granted full involvement in
these matters on an equal footing with the Council. The European Commission should assume a greater
executive role in this field building around the role of the High Representative.
What chances for a real European Common Security
and Defense Policy?
In order to find out the actual chances of an initiative to become an agreement, one first has to measure
the level of political support among the stakeholders. To do so, we have used the votes of the Members
of the European Parliament (MEPs) to track the views of all relevant political forces across the 28 Member
States, taking advantage of the fact that the EP gathers representatives of parties coming from both
government and opposition. Moreover, MEPs are free to vote according to their real views, as they are
not constraint by the need to support their government’s position, which provides us with a more accurate
picture. This analysis is based on two votes on specific paragraphs of a report recently voted in the
European Parliament.
A solid majority of EU political forces from most Member States are supporting Defense Union
Generally, there is a strong support for Defense Union across most of the continental EU. On the other
hand, the opposition comes from the countries in Northern Europe and Austria. These countries are either
neutral states (non-NATO), such as Sweden, Finland, Austria, Ireland, or have a historical tradition of
neutrality, such as Denmark and the Netherlands. Notably, there are different degrees of opposition to
the key aspects of the Defense Union. For example, the establishment of PESCO is less controversial than
the permanent EU headquarters and some neutral countries would support their use.
Central and Eastern European MEPs are the Firmest Supporters of More Integration in Defense Matter
Notably, former Russian satellite states in Eastern Europe strongly support the creation of the Permanent
Defense Headquarters. Overall, Romanian politicians are the most supportive of the defense integration
(judged by the behavior of their MEPs). The case of Poland is, however, remarkable: the Polish
Conservative MEPs of Law and Justice voted against the proposal for a Defense Union, which is in stark
contrast with the recent statements made by the Polish government. This may indicate that the policy
orientations of the Polish government are fluctuating due to internal disagreements and are yet to be
clearly defined. Estonia and Latvia are geographically vulnerable to perceived Russian aggressiveness,
which explains their unconditioned support for the new establishment. 71% of Latvian MEPs favor the
creation of the headquarters, as well as 80% of Estonian MEPs.
The UK is the main obstacle towards the establishment of Permanent Military Headquarters
From the perspective of the Defence Union project, Brexit is a positive development, as the UK is known
to be the main ‘breaker’ to further military integration. From the entire British EP delegation, only the
MEP from the LibDem supported the initiative, whereas all the other MEPs were either unenthusiastic or
outright hostile.
For further insights, contact us at [email protected]
www.votewatch.eu
WH
A
TI
SU
E
F
The Uni
on ofEur
opean Feder
al
i
s
t
s(
UEF)i
sa panEur
opean,nongov
er
nment
alpol
i
t
i
c
al
or
gani
s
at
i
ondedi
c
at
edt
ot
hepr
omot
i
onofEur
opeanpol
i
t
i
c
aluni
t
y
.
I
twasf
oundeds
hor
t
l
yaf
t
er
Wor
l
dWarI
Ii
nt
hebel
i
eft
hatonl
ybyuni
t
i
ngi
nt
oaEur
opeanFeder
at
i
onc
oul
dt
hes
t
at
esof
Eur
ope ov
er
c
ome t
he di
v
i
s
i
onsoft
he pas
tand ens
ur
eaf
ut
ur
e ofpeac
e and ec
onomi
c
pr
os
per
i
t
y
.Thr
oughoutt
hepas
t70y
ear
swehav
ebeenal
eadi
ngv
oi
c
ei
nt
hepr
omot
i
onof
Eur
opeanuni
t
yandanear
l
yc
ampai
gnerf
ork
eymi
l
es
t
onesi
nt
hedev
el
opmentoft
heEur
opean
Communi
t
i
esandt
hent
heEur
opeanUni
on.
Webel
i
ev
et
hatc
ompl
et
i
ngEur
opeanec
onomi
candpol
i
t
i
c
aluni
t
yi
sur
gent
l
yr
equi
r
edt
o
ens
ur
eEur
ope’
sec
onomi
cpr
os
per
i
t
yandr
el
ev
anc
ei
naf
as
t
c
hangi
ngwor
l
d.Asf
eder
al
i
s
t
swear
ec
r
i
t
i
c
aloft
he
s
l
owpac
eand s
mal
l
s
t
epspol
i
c
yt
hati
mpedespr
ogr
es
st
owar
dsgr
eat
erEur
opean i
nt
egr
at
i
on.Wec
ons
i
der
nat
i
onal
i
s
m,Eur
os
c
ept
i
c
i
s
m andpas
s
i
v
eac
c
ept
anc
eofdi
v
i
s
i
onasEur
ope’
swor
s
tenemi
es
.Asf
eder
al
i
s
t
sand
v
ot
er
swepas
s
i
onat
el
yc
al
lf
oraEur
opeandemoc
r
ac
ywher
eEur
opeanc
i
t
i
z
ens-notj
us
tnat
i
onalgov
er
nment
sdet
er
mi
net
hepol
i
c
i
esofEur
opeangov
er
nment
.TheUEFpr
omot
esf
eder
al
i
s
m ast
heopt
i
mum wayt
oor
gani
s
e
Eur
opeanuni
t
ydemoc
r
at
i
c
al
l
yandef
f
ec
t
i
v
el
ywhi
l
epr
es
er
v
i
ngt
hedi
v
er
s
i
t
yofourEur
opeanc
ount
r
i
es
.
Paol
oVACCA,
UEFSec
r
et
ar
y
Gener
al
0
,
0
0
0
F
o
u
n
d
e
d2
4n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l2
0
0l
o
c
a
l3
mb
e
r
s
1946 s
e
c
t
i
onsgr
oupsme
OURPARTNERS
WH
A
TD
O
E
SU
E
FD
O
WECAMPAI
GNFORAFEDERALEUROPE!
Wer
a
i
s
ec
i
t
i
z
ens
’
a
wa
r
enes
sofEur
opea
ni
s
s
uesa
ndt
heneedf
or
Eur
opea
npol
i
t
i
c
a
luni
t
yt
hr
ough or
ga
ni
s
edc
a
mpa
i
gns
,publ
i
c
deba
t
es
,
c
onf
er
enc
esi
ns
c
hool
sa
nduni
v
er
s
i
t
i
es
,
s
emi
na
r
s
,
s
t
r
eet
a
c
t
i
onsa
ndi
nf
or
ma
t
i
ons
t
a
nds
.
We pr
omot
et
he Eur
opea
n Feder
a
lPr
oj
ec
ta
mong pol
i
t
i
c
a
l
pa
r
t
i
esa
ndpol
i
t
i
c
i
a
nsa
tl
oc
a
l
,na
t
i
ona
la
ndEur
opea
nl
ev
el
s
t
hr
ough l
obby
i
ng a
c
t
i
v
i
t
i
es
,publ
i
cdeba
t
esa
nd i
ni
t
i
a
t
i
v
esi
n
Eur
opea
n,
na
t
i
ona
la
ndl
oc
a
lpa
r
l
i
a
ment
s
.
PROMI
NENTUEFMEMBERS
El
ma
rBROK
MEP(
EPP)
UEFPr
es
i
dent
,s
i
nc
e2013
Andr
ewDUFF
For
merMEP(
ALDE)
UEFPr
es
i
dent(
20082013)
Mer
c
edesBRESSO
Wec
a
l
lonna
t
i
ona
lgov
er
nment
st
oa
c
tf
orauni
t
eda
ndf
eder
a
l
Eur
opewi
t
hpet
i
t
i
ons
,a
ppea
l
sa
nda
dv
oc
a
c
ya
c
t
i
v
i
t
i
esdi
r
ec
t
ed
t
owa
r
dsdec
i
s
i
onma
k
er
sa
ndopi
ni
onl
ea
der
s
.
MEP(
S&D)
UEFPr
es
i
dent(
20062008)
J
oLEI
NEN
Wec
ont
r
i
but
et
ot
heEur
opea
ndeba
t
ewi
t
h ourpubl
i
c
a
t
i
ons
,
pol
i
c
ybr
i
ef
s
,
webs
i
t
es
,
news
l
et
t
er
sa
ndpr
es
sr
el
ea
s
es
.
We pr
omot
et
he need f
orEur
opea
n pol
i
t
i
c
a
luni
t
ya
st
he
r
es
pons
et
odi
f
f
er
entpol
i
c
yi
s
s
uesbyc
ooper
a
t
i
ngwi
t
hot
her
nongov
er
nment
a
la
ndc
i
v
i
ls
oc
i
et
yor
ga
ni
z
a
t
i
onsa
ndpl
a
t
f
or
ms
.
Weenga
gea
ga
i
ns
tna
t
i
ona
l
i
s
t
sa
ndEur
os
c
ept
i
c
sa
ndexpl
a
i
n
a
nd pr
omot
ef
eder
a
l
i
s
m a
st
he wa
yt
o or
ga
ni
s
e Eur
opea
n
ec
onomi
ca
ndpol
i
t
i
c
a
luni
t
ywhi
l
epr
es
er
v
i
ngt
hedi
v
er
s
i
t
yof
Eur
opea
nc
ount
r
i
es
.
MEP(
S&D)
UEFPr
es
i
dent(
19972006)
GuyVERHOFSTADT
MEP,
Cha
i
rALDEgr
oup
Honor
a
r
yPr
es
i
dentofUEFBel
gi
um
Al
t
i
er
oSPI
NELLI
FounderofUEFI
t
a
l
y(
1943)
,
Aut
horofVent
ot
eneMa
ni
f
es
t
o
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE UNION OF EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS!
WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN?
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) has been working for seventy years towards a united and federal
Europe. We have been active in calling for every major milestone that European integration has achieved.
Today, as Europe is at a major crossroad, we continue to be a leading voice for European political unity across
our continent.
FEDERALISTS HAVE THE SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES WE FACE
As desperate people flee war and poverty and national governments failed to manage the flows of refugees
and migrants about how to handle new arrivals, the Federalists call for common border management, a
single asylum policy and a European plan to accommodate new arrivals.
As the Eurozone struggles with questions about its future, the Federalists call for a fiscal and economic
union and a democratically accountable European Government with the powers and resources to promote
the interest of the Eurozone as a whole.
As people lose faith in democracy and politics, the Federalists call for a deep overhaul of the Union’s
Institutions, to put an end to decisions made behind closed doors and give a real meaning to the European
citizenship.
As the borders of the European Union, from Ukraine, to Syria and North Africa, are facing war and
instability, the Federalists call for a single European foreign, security and defence policy, pooling of military
resources and the creation of a European Army.
However, a movement is just as strong as its members. Today a committed and convincing federalist
organisation is more needed than ever, to spur national governments and politicians to act, to counter the
negative forces of nationalism and populism and to rally citizens and politicians around a positive vision of the
European project. It is the time to get on board and take the only road to a democratic and prosperous future for
all European: a united and federal Europe. #joinUEF