The many dimensions of the EU strategic autonomy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60054/PEU.2021.8.45-54Keywords:
strategic autonomy, EU global strategy, common foreign and security policyAbstract
In a speech to a distinguished audience at the Bruegel’s Think Tank last autumn, President Charles Michel of the European Council chose to address a principle that has been in one way or another at the heart of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy since its inception, but which was explicitly mentioned only in the EU Global Strategy developed by his predecessor Federica Mogherini in 2016.
Back then, the principle of strategic autonomy was seen as an essential prerequisite for the promotion of European principles and values, peace, and security across European borders. Until now, it has been considered that since Europe is already one of the world’s leading strategic powers, from this position the EU will have to pursue three objectives: stability, the ability to set standards, and the advancement of its own values (Charles Michel). The aim of this contribution is to assess the concept of strategic autonomy of the European Union based on the “capability-expectation gap” hypothesis, as defined by Christopher Hill in 1993, to describe the imbalance between the growing expectations for a stronger EU political role on the international stage and the limited opportunities available to the EU to meet those expectations.
References
Bretherton, C., & Vogler, J. (1999). European Union as an International Actor. Routledge.
Bundesregierung, Presse- und Informationsamt (BPA). (2018, June 19). Erklärung von Meseberg. Das Versprechen Europas für Sicherheit und Wohlstand erneuern (Pressemitteilung 214). https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/erklaerung-von-meseberg-1140536
Cameron, F. (1999). The Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union: Past, Present and Future. Sheffield Academic Press.
Deutscher Bundestag. (2020, November 25). Stenografischer Bericht der 194. Sitzung (Plenarprotokoll 19/194). https://dserver.bundestag.de/btp/19/19194.pdf
European External Action Service. (2016). Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe - A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy. https://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/top_stories/pdf/eugs_review_web.pdf
European External Action Service. (2019). The European Union’s Global Strategy. Three Years On, Looking Forward. https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/eu_global_strategy_2019.pdf
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. (2020, March 10). Joint statement welcoming the European Commission’s Industrial Strategy. https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2020/20200310-joint-statement-welcoming-the-european-commissions-industrial-strategy.html
Ginsberg, R. H. (1999). Conceptualizing the European Union as an International Actor: Narrowing the Theoretical Capability - Expectations Gap. Journal of Common Market Studies, 37(3), 429–454.
Hill, C. (1993). The Capabilities-Expectations Gap, or Conceptualizing Europe’s International Role. Journal of Common Market Studies, 31(3), 305–328.
Hill, C. (1998). Closing the Capabilities-Expectations Gap? In J. Petersen & H. Sjursen (Eds.), A Common Foreign Policy for Europe? Competing Visions of the CFSP (pp. 18–38). Routledge.
Holland, M. (1995). Bridging the Capability-Expectations Gap: A Case-Study of a CFSP Joint Action on South Africa. Journal of Common Market Studies, 33(4), 556–572.
Kempin, R. (2021). Conclusions. France’s Foreign and Security Policy under President Macron. The Consequences for Franco-German Cooperation. In R. Kempin (Ed.), Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Research Paper 4 (pp. 46–51). https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/research
Kramp-Karrenbauer, A. (2020a, November 17). Rede der Bundesministerin der Verteidigung an der Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr. https://www.bmvg.de/resource/blob/4483202/a62307ebef4572c1cffa4
Kramp-Karrenbauer, A. (2020b, November 25). Befragung der Bundesregierung: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Bundesministerin der Verteidigung [Stenografischer Bericht der 194. Sitzung. Plenarprotokoll 19/194]. https://dserver.bundestag.de/btp/19/19194.pdf
Macron, E. (2020, February 7). Discours du Président Emmanuel Macron sur la stratégie de défense et de dissuasion devant les stagiaires de la 27ème promotion de l’école de guerre. https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2020/02/07/discours-du-president-emmanuel-macron-sur-la-strategie-de-defense-et-de-dissuasion-devant-les-stagiaires-de-la-27eme-promotion-de-lecole-de-guerre
Major, C. (2021a). France’s Security and Defence Policy under President Macron - Pragmatic, Ambitious, Disruptive. In R. Kempin (Ed.), Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Research Paper 4 (pp. 10–15). https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/research_papers/2021RP04_PolicyUnder
Major, C. (2021b). A Committed but Challenging Ally: France’s NATO Policy. In R. Kempin (Ed.), Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Research Paper 4 (pp. 35–41). https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/research_papers/2021RP04_PolicyUnder
Major, C., & Mölling, C. (2020, September 30). Europas Kampfflugzeug der Zukunft schmiert ab. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/fcas-das-kampfflugzeug-der-zukunft-schmiert-ab-16978609.html
Michel, C. (2020, September 26). Strategic autonomy for Europe - the aim of our generation [Speech]. Bruegel think tank, Brussels. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/09/28/l-autonomie-strategique-europeenne-est-l-objectif-de-notre-generation-discours-du-president-charles-michel-au-groupe-de-reflexion-bruegel/
Ministère des Armées. (2021, February 10). Actualisation stratégique 2021. https://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/dgris/dgris/evenements-fr/actualisation-strategique-2021
Ministry for the Economy and Finance (France), & Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Germany). (2019, February 19). Franco-German Manifesto ‘for a European industrial policy fit for the 21st Century’. https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/F/franco-german-manifesto-for-a-european-industrial-policy.pdf
Mosser, M. W. (2015, March 4–7). The EU and the OSCE: Partners or Rivals in the European Security Architecture? [Conference presentation]. 14th Conference Proceedings of the European Union Studies Association (EUSA). http://aei.pitt.edu/id/eprint/79442
Ojanen, H. (2006). The EU and NATO: Two Competing Models for a Common Defense. Journal of Common Market Studies, 44(1), 57–76.
Roos, U. (2010). Deutsche Außenpolitik. Eine Rekonstruktion der grundlegenden Handlungsregeln. VS Verlag f.u.r Sozialwissenschaften/Springer.
Steinmeier, F.-W. (2020, November 12). Feierliches Gelöbnis zum 65. Gründungstag der Bundeswehr [Speech]. https://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Reden/DE/Frank-Walter-Steinmeier/Reden/2020/11/201112-Geloebnis-Bundeswehr.html
Stolton, S. (2020, March 11). Commission resists competition reform plans until 2021. Euractiv. https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/commission-resists-competition-reform-plans-until-2021
Vogel, D. (2020). Germany. In T. Rostoks & G. Gavrilko (Eds.), Defence Policy and the Armed Forces in Times of Pandemic (pp. 80–95). Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
