EU leaders call for enhancing bloc’s strategic autonomy
European Union leaders have called for enhancing the EU’s strategic autonomy and bolstering the bloc’s role as a “security provider”.
Following a two-day summit of the European Council (EC) in Brussels, the members agreed to promote initiatives which contribute to “enhancing the EU’s strategic autonomy and its capacity to act as a security provider, while complementing and reinforcing the activities of NATO and strengthening EU-NATO cooperation.”
In the final document, EC members welcomed progress in talks on the $15 billion European Defense Fund in implementing a strategy for closer cooperation with NATO and in improving military mobility.
The statement was released after French President Emmanuel Macron called last month for the establishment of a “real European army” that can defend itself without depending “only on the United States.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed support for Macron’s idea, however, Britain’s Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson has branded it an “absolutely crazy idea.”
EU foreign policy and defense chief Federica Mogherini denied building an entirely European force in November, while NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that EU efforts should not compete with the US-led military alliance, which he described as the bedrock for European security.
The EU statement further highlighted the need for a prompt response to disinformation, which they defined as part of hybrid warfare waged on member nations in the run-up to European polls next May, calling for “swift and decisive action at both European and national level on securing free and fair European and national elections.”
EU leaders censured what they referred to as the "spread of deliberate, large-scale, and systematic disinformation," insisting that the move was a strategic challenge for their democracies and urging a prompt implementation of the Commission’s roadmap to guarantee a coordinated and well-resourced response to the perceived existential threat.
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