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Today the European Union consists of 27 member states, each with its own military force, security and internal defence policy. Each of these countries has well-defined geographical and political borders. Internal borders are all those borders shared with one or more countries within the EU. External, or common, borders mean the borders of the European Union taken as a whole.
Since the European Union is a union of states, it is therefore essential to ensure the defence and security of its common borders. This is because the common external borders do not only affect one country, but all the countries that are part of the EU. Which means that any attack on the external borders would implicitly entail an attack on every single European country.
The European Union has its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which is an integral part of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP is the main policy framework through which Member States can develop a European strategic culture of security and defence, address conflicts and crises together, protect the Union and its citizens, and strengthen international peace and security.
In particular, the CSDP was introduced in 2009, with the Treaty of Lisbon. This Treaty is better known as the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which is basically the primary source of the law of the European Union.
So, we can rightly say that the EU has a formal strategy in terms of security and defence.
But, according to the most recent events (referring to the Ukrainian crisis), this strategy has dramatically proved its failure.
In fact, the CFSP showed how the defence and security sector was for a long time considered a non-priority sector at the level of the Union, which once the war between Russia and Ukraine started, had to face a great effort to bring its aid to the country raped by Russian force.
The effort to support Ukraine was and still is crucial. But on the other hand, it caused great difficulties within the European structure.
The European Union’s production capacity is undergoing a real crisis in terms of production and supply of military materials, ammunition, and in general all products necessary for defence.
For this reason, immediate intervention was needed to make up for this shortfall. This intervention is needed above all to continue to provide support for the Ukrainian cause for as long as this is necessary, i.e. until the hostilities end and a just and lasting peace is achieved.
A first step in this direction was the so-called EDIRPA, which stands for “European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act”.
On 19 July 2022 the Commission decided to put forward a proposal for a regulation establishing the so-known EDIRPA. The regulation was presented in order to create a short-term joint defence procurement instrument addressing the EU’s most urgent and critical defence capability gaps and to incentivise the EU Member States to procure defence products jointly.
The European Council, after discussed about the Commission’s proposal, voted in favour of it and it adopted its general approach on the proposal on 1st December 2022.
EDIRPA therefore represents a respectable approach that helps the EU in the sector of defence. But it is not the only one that must be followed.
In fact, EDIRPA was added to the well-known European Peace Facility (shortly, EPF). The EPF was established in 2021 and it is an instrument that is used to finance external actions that have military or defence implications. It also contributes to preserving peace throughout the world. It is funded by member states, which contribute with a total amount of € 5 billions for the period 2021-2025.
During the last period, the European Union decided to implement its action, by strengthening its defence role inside and outside its borders.
In addition to all we said before, on 27th June 2023 the Eu Parliament and the Eu Council reached an agreement on new rules to incentivise EU countries to jointly purchase defence products and support the EU defence industry. An agreement that in some ways was inevitable given the current complex international context, which requires the most immediate and effective responses.
The new regulation, which has so far been informally agreed upon by the two European institutions, is intended to be a short-term instrument to revitalise the European defence industry through joint procurement. This instrument should help meet the needs of the Member States with regard to the most urgent and critical defence issues. This action is needed now more than ever because the member states are increasingly at risk from defence transfers to Ukraine, which, although done voluntarily and collaboratively, have nevertheless had dramatic consequences for domestic life.
Another objective the EU intends to pursue is to help promote the competitiveness and efficiency of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (the so-called EDTIB).
The EU has finally realised that member countries must be supported in rebuilding and modernising their military equipment, quickly and by following concrete policies that yield effective results in the short term, but at the same time setting up an approach that increases the EU’s capacity in the long term.
The new instrument will have a budget of € 300 million until 2025. The EU family will contribute up to 20% for each purchase of the estimated value of the joint procurement contract, for each consortium of Member States and associated countries. To benefit from these funds, entities with joint procurement contracts must be established in the EU or associated countries. In addition, it was also achieved that Member States engaged in joint procurement can also agree on defence procurement together with Ukraine and Moldova. In this way, support for these countries will be even more adequate and will respond to the real needs that arise on the battlefield from time to time.
The Commission’s task in this process will be to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the actions undertaken under EDIRPA at the end of the programme. It will identify possible shortfalls and critical dependencies from non-associated third countries in raw materials, components and production capacities and propose mitigation measures. In this way, actions taken at EU level will be monitored and prompt action will be taken to remedy any shortcomings.
The agreement, which now has to be formally approved by both the European Parliament and the European Council, has provoked reactions from the various political parties.
In particular, the member of Parliament and member of ECR Group, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, which is also the rapporteur for the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, said about this decision: “We reached a reasonable compromise on this important file: the EP managed to achieve its main objectives, including securing a higher budget for the instrument, while preserving the financing of the equally important Act in Support of Ammunition Production. Such outcome guarantees that both programmes will ultimately meet the expectations attached to them in the difficult geopolitical circumstances we are currently facing.”
The issue of security and defence of the European Union are two central topics on the European political agenda. At this historical moment more than ever. It is therefore necessary that this strategic sector be managed responsibly and wisely, considering both the external and internal dimensions of the European Union. It is undoubtedly necessary today to support Ukraine and all countries that need or will need it. But it is also necessary to consider the resources and capacities of individual member states, which can no longer risk vacillating when crisis situations arise. The instruments adopted so far need to be implemented not only in order to overcome the crisis in Ukraine, but for them to become stable instruments over time. It is therefore crucial that the European Union no longer forgets that security must be guaranteed in every way and at all times, also and above all by implementing a defence policy that can also be preventive as well as a response to emergencies.