This article may require copy editing for Clunky EU English.(November 2023) |
Strategic autonomy is defined as the ability of a state to pursue its national interests and adopt its preferred foreign policy without depending heavily on other foreign states. [1]
In the European context, strategic autonomy is the ability of the European Union to not be overly reliant on the United States, to defend Europe and act militarily in its neighborhood, for the strategic purposes of affording a political autonomy independent from US foreign policies. [2]
Date | 2016 – present |
---|---|
Theme | Geopolitical great power competition |
Participants | EU |
An early reference to strategic autonomy in the discussions of the European council of ministers can be dated back to December 2013. The European Council called for the development of European defense capabilities to enhance the strategic autonomy of the European Union. [3]
In 2016, strategic autonomy became part of the European Union Global Strategy doctrine to improve the defense capabilities of the European Union, including the setting up of a European Defence Fund established in 2017. Strategic autonomy became central to the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, who stated her intention to have a “geopolitical commission.” [4] Members of the Von der Leyen Commission, including Josep Borrell and Thierry Breton, claim that Europe's soft power needs to be complemented by a harder power dimension. [5]
In the aftermath of the November 2020 defeat of Donald Trump, the concept of the European strategic autonomy was inspired by France, which advocated for this strategy at the European Union level. [6] Strategic autonomy for the EU is a concept that includes economic, energy and digital policy, [7] and initiatives such as GAIA-X. European Union Member States, such as Germany, display different preferences than France when it comes to the priorities of a strategic autonomy policy. [8] Strategic autonomy expanded to digital policy of the European Union with an objective to ascertain European sovereignty against China. [9]
As early as December 2020, strategic autonomy was a priority in European defense policy. This was enunciated by HRVP Josep Borrell, who saw Donald Trump as an unreliable partner in a retrospective speech. [10] The goal of strategic autonomy is not to act alone militarily and the European Union can be characterized as non-interventionist in nature. [7]
The election of Joe Biden in the United States brought expectations of a Euro-Atlantic unity to be reconciled with the strategic autonomy of the European Union. [6] The New York Times saw the election of Joe Biden bringing discord between France and Germany over the future of European defense and strategic autonomy. [11] In November 2021 the Biden administration urged the EU to develop its own credible military capabilities. [12]
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was perceived by Emmanuel Macron as an attack on the institutions of the EU and a test of European strategic autonomy. [13]
On 2 December 2022, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that Europe must strengthen its defenses because they are currently “not strong enough” to stand up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine alone, and have been relying on American support. [14]
In April 2023, during an interview on a plane after a three-day state visit to China, Macron called for the EU to reduce its dependence on the US to attain European strategic autonomy away from Washington and avoid being drawn into a confrontation between the US and China over Taiwan. [15] Macron had also advocated that Europe should become a "third superpower.” [15] According to Macron, Europe should focus on boosting its own defense industries and on reducing dependence on the extraterritoriality of the US dollar. [15]
Josep Borrell Fontelles is a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 1 December 2019. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served as President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in the Government of Spain from 2018 to 2019.
The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) that promotes and facilitates integration between member states within the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The EDA is headed by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European Commission’s Vice President (HR/VP), and reports to the Council. The EDA was established on 12 July 2004 and is based in Brussels, Belgium, along with a number of other CSDP bodies.
Relations between the European Union (EU) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) or Sino–European relations are bilateral relations that were established in 1975 between the PRC and the European Community. The EU is the PRC's largest trading partner, and the PRC is the EU's largest trade partner.
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German physician and politician serving as the 13th president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding successive positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as minister of defence. Von der Leyen is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its EU affiliated group, the European People's Party (EPP).
Relations between the European Union and the United States began in 1953, when US diplomats visited the European Coal and Steel Community in addition to the national governments of its six founding countries. The two parties share a good relationship which is strengthened by NATO, cooperation on trade, and shared values.
Sylvie Goulard is a French politician and civil servant who served as Deputy Governor of the Banque de France from 2018 to 2022.
Sea transport accounts for most of the European Union's external and internal commerce. The EU is the world's third-largest importer of fisheries and aquaculture products and the fifth-largest producer. Maritime borders make up more than 70% of the Union's external borders, and hundreds of millions of travelers pass through European ports each year. The security of Europe's energy supply is heavily reliant on marine transit and infrastructure. The significant expansion of EU Member States' fleets, as well as suitable port infrastructure, contribute to a well-functioning energy market and supply security, and hence to European residents' and the European economy's overall well-being. The Arctic region is therefore a vital new area for the EU to work towards and a new strategy for the Arctic region that matches with the European Green deal was established in late 2021.
Relations between the European Union and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) were established in 1975 as part of the Euro-Arab Dialogue. The EU is a member of the Quartet and is the single largest donor of foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority.
The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is the part of the European Union's (EU) security and defence policy (CSDP) in which 26 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration. Based on Article 42.6 and Protocol 10 of the Treaty on European Union, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, PESCO was first initiated in 2017. The initial integration within the PESCO format is a number of projects which launched in 2018.
Euractiv is a European news website focused on EU policies, founded in 1999 by the French media publisher Christophe Leclercq. Its headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Brussels, with other offices in Paris and Berlin. Its content is produced by about 50 journalists staffed in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.
The European Defence Fund (EDF) is a component of the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) which aims to coordinate and increase national investment in defence research and improve interoperability between national armed forces. It was proposed in 2016 by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and established in 2017. The fund has two stands; Research and Development & Acquisition. In July 2018, the European Commission announced that the EDF budget for 2021-2027 would be €13 billion. This sum was later revised by the European Commission as part of the new EU budget proposed on May 27, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to which the EDF will be allocated €8 billion over this budget period.
The Global strategy for the foreign and security policy of the European Union, for short the European Union Global Strategy (EUGS), is the updated doctrine of the European Union to improve the effectiveness of the defence and security of the Union and its members states, the protection of civilians, cooperation between the member states' armed forces, management of immigration, crises etc. Adopted on 28 June 2016, it replaces the European Security Strategy of 2003.
The von der Leyen Commission is the current European Commission, in office since 1 December 2019 and is to last until the 2024 elections. It has Ursula von der Leyen as its president and it further consists of one commissioner from each of the member states of the European Union.
The 2024 European Parliament election is scheduled to be held on 6 to 9 June 2024. This will be the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit.
The Conference on the Future of Europe was a proposal of the European Commission and the European Parliament, announced at the end of 2019, with the aim of looking at the medium- to long-term future of the EU and what reforms should be made to its policies and institutions. It is intended that the Conference should involve citizens, including a significant role for young people, civil society, and European institutions as equal partners and last for two years. It will be jointly organised by the European Parliament, the EU Council and the European Commission. On 19 April 2021, the multilingual digital platform of the Conference futureu.europa.eu was launched.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its spread in Europe has had significant effects on some major EU members countries and on European Union institutions, especially in the areas of finance, civil liberties, and relations between member states.
The European army or EU army are terms for a hypothetical army of the European Union which would supersede the Common Security and Defence Policy and would go beyond the proposed European Defence Union. Currently, there is no such army, and defence is a matter for the member states.
The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is a proposed investment deal between the People's Republic of China and the European Union. Proposed in 2013, the deal has not been signed as of 15 December 2023. In December 2020, the European Commission announced that the agreement was concluded in principle by the leaders of the European Council, pending ratification by the European Parliament.
The Trade and Technology Council (TTC) is a transatlantic political body which serves as a diplomatic forum to coordinate technology and trade policy between the United States and European Union. It is composed of ten working groups, each focusing on specific policy areas. The formation of the TTC was first announced by US President Joe Biden and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on June 15, 2021. The early agenda focused primarily on US-EU cooperation in technology, strategic sectors, market access, trade, democratic values and rule of law in the digital world, supply chain resilience, the global trade order and the EU's developing regulatory agenda like Digital Services Act, Data Act and Cloud Rules. The TTC was established under the leadership of five co-chairs – European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group first met in October 2022 in Prague, with participants from 44 European countries, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission. It is distinct from both the European Union and the Council of Europe.