EU revisits reaction force plan after lessons from Afghanistan

(File photo)

Germany called on the European Union yesterday to enable coalitions of the willing within the bloc to rapidly deploy a military force in a crisis as members discussed the lessons learned after the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan. EU efforts to create a rapid reaction force have been paralysed for more than a decade despite the creation in 2007 of a system of battlegroups of 1,500 troops that have never been used due to disputes over funding and a reluctance to deploy. EU member nations – most of which are also North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies – have often been reluctant to agree moves to integrate military capabilities. However, the exit of US-led troops from Afghanistan has brought the subject back into the spotlight, with the EU alone potentially unable to evacuate personnel from countries where it is training foreign troops, such as in Mali. “Sometimes there are events that catalyse history, that create a breakthrough, and I think that Afghanistan is one of these cases,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Slovenia, adding that he hoped for a plan in October or November. “Afghanistan has shown that deficiencies in our strategic autonomy come with a price and that the only way forward is to combine our forces and strengthen not only our capacity but also our will to act,” he said. “If we want to be able to act autonomously and not be dependent on the choices made by others, even if these others are our friends and allies, then we have to develop our own capacities.” Borrell urged the bloc to create a rapidly deployable “first entry force” of 5,000 troops to reduce dependence on the United States. He said President Joe Biden was the third consecutive US leader to warn the Europeans that his country was pulling back from interventions abroad in Europe’s backyard. “It represents a warning for the Europeans they need to wake (up) and to take their own responsibilities,” he said after chairing a meeting of EU defence ministers in Slovenia. Diplomats in the meeting told Reuters that there was no decision on the way ahead, with the EU unable to agree on how it would quickly decide to authorise a mission without involving all 27 states, their national parliaments and those wanting United Nations approval. The proposal from Germany, one of the strongest military powers in the EU but historically reluctant to send its forces into combat, would rely on a joint decision by the bloc but not necessarily all members deploying their forces. “In the EU, coalitions of the willing could act after a joint decision of all,” German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a tweet in Slovenia. A rapid reaction force is seen as more likely now that Britain has exited the bloc. Britain, one of Europe’s main military powers alongside France, had been sceptical of collective defence policy. EU diplomats say they want a final deal on design and funding by March, when France takes over its six-month presidency in January. Kramp-Karrenbauer said the key question was not whether the EU would establish a new military unit, and the discussion must not stop there. “The military capabilities in EU member countries do exist,” she said. “The key question for the future of the European security and defence police is how we finally use our military capabilities together.” Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted “it is very important that we don’t act as an alternative to Nato and the Americans”. Slovenia Defence Minister Matej Tonin meanwhile suggested that a rapid reaction force could comprise 5,000 to 20,000 troops but deployment should not depend on a unanimous decision by the EU’s 27 states. “If we are talking about the European battlegroups, the problem is that, because of the consensus, they are almost never activated,” Matej, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, told reporters. “Maybe the solution is that we invent a mechanism where the classic majority will be enough and those who are willing will be able to go (ahead).”