Militär Aktuell series: In each issue, Major General Johann Frank reports on news and developments relating to the European Union’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). This time the focus is on the existing partnerships between the EU/CSDP on the one hand and NATO, the UN and the OSCE on the other.
The EU is not a military power and will probably never become one. However, the EU is a regulatory power and this is based on the ability to (enforce) rules and on international acceptance. In pursuing this policy of “effective multilateralism”, the EU is dependent on cooperation with international institutions and partners. How cooperation with NATO, the UN, the OSCE and other strategic partners should continue is currently being discussed as part of the “Strategic Compass”. In principle, the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) is designed as a project that is open to partners, provided they share the EU’s political interests and values and bring operational added value. The EU’s most important security partner is NATO. However, while NATO’s core task is territorial defense, the EU/CSDP has so far focused primarily on international crisis management. The strategic partnership between the EU and NATO currently comprises 74 projects. From an analytical point of view, a clearer division of labor along the lines of comparative strengths would be desirable. Due to its more comprehensive toolbox, the EU should strengthen its performance profile for dealing with hybrid threats, terrorism, cyber attacks and the consequences of climate change and expand its military capabilities in the sense of “strategic autonomy” so that it can manage crises as independently as possible in the Euro-strategic foreground. Austria’s core interests in cooperation with NATO within the framework of the Partnership for Peace are participation in the transatlantic security dialog, operations in the Western Balkans and ensuring international military cooperation capabilities. As all relevant technical, operational and training standards are set by NATO and adopted by the EU, Turkey’s blockade policy towards Austria has a negative long-term impact on maintaining (international) operational capability. Cooperation in the areas of security and peace is an essential part of the strategic partnership between the UN and the EU. The EU currently stands side by side with the UN in 13 of its 17 missions. A key objective is therefore to improve the future efficiency of joint operations. For Austria, the UN is of the greatest importance in matters of international security and world peace. As one of three UN headquarters, Vienna is a global competence center for security issues. The blue helmet missions of the Austrian Armed Forces are also traditionally a sign of an active policy of neutrality and a calling card of Austrian foreign policy.
“The EU’s Common Security and
Defense Policy is designed as a project open to partners.
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Cooperation with the OSCE further rounds off the EU’s multilateral cooperation profile. It includes the security policy dialog and the areas of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. As the host state, Austria and the Austrian Armed Forces contribute to arms control and disarmament in the conventional field and confidence building.
Since the start of the special monitoring mission in Ukraine in 2014, the Austrian Armed Forces have been supporting the pre-deployment training of monitoring officers and deploying personnel themselves. As part of the “Strategic Compass”, the Foreign Ministry held a seminar with the Ministry of Defense to develop further steps to deepen EU-OSCE cooperation and will continue to discuss the results with a focus on cooperation in field missions, strengthening liaison structures and training at the level of EU ambassadors. Ceterum censeo: The EU can only be a credible advocate of effective multilateralism if it develops into an independent player in the multipolar world order, which in turn requires an intensification of defense cooperation between the EU member states.
Click here for the last part of “CSDP in focus”: There is not a lack of ideas, but a lack of implementation.
