The EU’s legacy and ambition in security and defence
This report has been published by the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). Dick Zandee Head of the Security Unit, wrote chapter 3 'No more shortfalls? European military capabilities 20 years on'.
Europe has never been so prosperous, so secure nor so free’. The opening line of the 2003 European Security Strategy rings rather hollow today. Following a financial crisis in 2008, Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 and concerns about the political integrity of the EU, Europeans are having to accept the reality of a vastly deteriorating security landscape. Not only is Europe beset by security challenges near its borders, but structural – geopolitical – shifts are forcing the Union to question and reassess long-standing partnerships. Since the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU and the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2016, European leaders have had to grapple with the challenge of maintaining European political unity, ensuring that the transatlantic relationship remains on an even keel and building up European security and defence. The EU Global Strategy of 2016 is therefore much nearer the mark when it states that ‘we live in times of existential crisis, within and beyond the European Union’.
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