https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-f...e-fund-russia/
EU, founded as project of peace, plans military future
The mood in the European Union on military affairs is undergoing a seismic shift. Policymakers across the Continent finally agree that hard power — long viewed as antithetical to the EU’s
raison d’être — is now essential to the bloc’s survival. The question is how, or sometimes if, the EU’s militaries should work together.........
....in Brussels, the Commission has
proposed a €13 billion European Defense Fund for the bloc’s next long-term budget, in part to expand a list of 17 joint defense initiatives approved in December by the European Council under what is known as Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). The European Parliament has even
called for creating a directorate general for defense in the Commission.
Advocates of military cooperation say no less than the EU’s survival is at stake. “Only together, we are strong,” Michael Gahler, a German member of the European Parliament, said in July after the approval of a €500 million fund for research and development of defense industrial products. “Only united will Europeans face the challenges that emanate from Russia, disintegrating states in the neighborhood and, unfortunately, the currently incalculable U.S. foreign and security policy.”.....
The European Council in March approved an initial
list of projects, including the creation of a European Medical Command, development of cyber rapid-response teams, and construction of an armored infantry fighting vehicle, to be built by Italy, Greece and Slovakia. Diplomats said only two projects — the cyber initiative led by Lithuania and a Dutch-led initiative on military mobility — have made concrete progress so far. But already defense ministers are looking at a further 33 projects put forward by member countries in recent months. They plan to draw up a shortlist for approval by December.
The Commission also allocated €500 million in 2019-20 for defense industrial research projects, which one European NATO official said would help reduce reliance on Washington. “Currently it’s all based on U.S. and U.K. technology,” the official said. “Once this will be done, EU member states will be in the position to choose between U.S. and EU products.”
While these initial steps may seem small, experts say they represent a revolutionary shift after decades of inaction.
“The European Commission has found its way into the European security and defense sector,” Chantal Lavallée, an expert at the Institute for European Studies, wrote
in a recent paper for the Real Instituto Elcano in Spain. “To the surprise and skepticism of many, given that this sector has long been considered a
domaine réservé of the member states, ambitious Commission initiatives have come to fruition.”........