Analysis: EU Defense Integration Still a Longway to Go

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Analysis: EU Defense Integration Still a Longway to Go

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Europe made a substantial step forward in building the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) as its first autonomous peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is to be accomplished by the end of August.

The French-led Congo mission, the European Union's (EU) first military venture outside Europe without NATO help, reflected progress in the bloc's defense building aimed at combating international threats quickly and vigorously, without relying exclusively on the United States.

The mission, without using the military assets of NATO, is seen as a model for the Rapid Reaction Force that the EU intends to render fully operational this year.

Conceived a decade ago to promote the continent's strength and togetherness militarily, the Rapid Reaction Force has proved its operational capability with its 60,000 troops in 15 brigades and about 400 airplanes and 100 warships.

A number of tasks await as part of the EU defense program, including a monitoring mission in Moldova and the takeover of the NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia next year.

The Europeans' military ambition of a true armed force of their own thus has come nearer to reality though there is still a rough and long way to go.

YAWNING GAP IN EU-US MILITARY CAPABILITY

The ESDP process was being accelerated as post-Cold War conflicts highlighted the yawning gap between the military strength of the United States and Europe.

The United States confirmed its military domination in the Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq while Europe was embarrassed by the fact that it could barely scrape enough troops together when crisis hit its backyard.

It is estimated that it would take the European forces at least10 years to catch up with the US armed forces, whose longtime supremacy is further strengthened by revolutionary technologies and top-level equipment.

The alarming gap resulted partly from the generous military spending on the US side. In 2003, Washington planned a 380-billion-dollar budget for defense, a sum more than three times the total of military spending of all 15 EU nations.

After an imposed military weakness in favor of economic reconstruction in post-World War II decades, Europe now feel the urge to beef up its military muscles.

Huge efforts are needed to fill the gap. The 60,000-strong Rapid Reaction Force only enjoys a "limited and constrained" operational capability because of shortfalls in transportation, air refueling and protection against chemical and germ warfare.

It would be even harder to set up a costly 300,000-man military force, which is believed crucial to keep the Rapid Reaction Force permanently operational.

France promised spending of 88.87 billion euros (94 billion dollars) over the 2003-2008 period, which, though constituting a big increase, only represents less than 2 percent of its gross domestic product each year. The European governments have so far failed to put money behind its joint defense.

NATO DISTURBED BY ESDP

The US reluctance to see EU autonomy in defense matters is another obstacle to the Europeans' efforts at closer defense integration.

Sulky with European opposition to the Iraq war, Washington saw in the mini EU summit in April a bigger contradiction to the NATO-EU cooperation.

In April, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg proposed giving Europe its own planning and command staff for operations, in which NATO is not involved.

"The April meeting was a disappointment to the United States," said US ambassador to the NATO Nicholas Burns in late July.

Europeans are trying to dispel the doubt that EU defense competes with the primacy of NATO, arguing that a stronger EU defense is neither anti-US nor anti-NATO, but will strengthen the European pillar of the alliance.

"Europe's military commitments should always be towards NATO, for efficiency and speed of decision making," said EU Commission President Romano Prodi in June.

Nevertheless, by building its own defense capability, the EU will certainly duplicate the security net provided by NATO and potentially go into competition against its protector.

It is predictable that the EU defense ambitions will be limited as long as the US hates to see it go beyond acceptance and EU members themselves still bicker over differences on the future of ESDP.

GLARING DIFFERENCES WITHIN EU

Britain, as Washington's closest ally in Europe, has expressed its disagreement to the proposals presented at the April mini-summit.

As a military heavyweight in Europe, Britain plays an important role in the building of EU defense. Without the participation of Britain, a EU defense could not be a real one.

Behind the conflicts lies the deeply-rooted political division within Europe, recently witnessed in the rifts between the London-led pro-war camp and Paris-led anti-war camp during the Iraqi crisis.

Conservatives in London hold reservations on what they call "the Utopian venture of creating a single European super-state to rival America on the world stage."

They can count on support from neutral states opposing to militarization of the EU -- Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Cyprus and Malta and staunch NATO allies such as the Netherlands, Poland and Denmark.

The French, with its traditional ambivalence toward both NATO and the US, wants to promote EU independence and integration, loath to remain under a US-led NATO umbrella.

As an engine of the EU defense, France does not want the EU defense system to act as a new international police, but to be able to confront security threats and balance unilateral acts in the international arena.

Just like the drive toward a single European currency, which was born after half a century of persistence, wisdom, hard work and compromise, the drive toward an autonomous EU defense still has a long way to go, analysts say.

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