In this edition of the European Council Experts’ Debrief, our experts focus on the theme of security and defence. We asked eleven experts to respond to the following question, formulated by TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos and Executive Director Mariam Khotenashvili: “In view of the multiple new threats in a rapidly changing world, the effects of the Russian war on Ukraine, and growing uncertainties about the US commitment to European security, the time has come for a qualitative leap towards the objectives outlined in Article 42 TEU. What should be the key ingredients of such a reset? How could it best be ensured and operationalised, in terms of EU internal structures, resources, and ambition? Should the United Kingdom be associated to the process towards a European common defence, and how? What should the future role of NATO be? Do you consider that the Strategic Agenda adopted by the European Council at its June meeting is an adequate first response to these questions?“

As the European Union increasingly seeks to assert itself in a difficult geopolitical world, the question of how to ensure European security and defence has become more and more prominent. The context of Europe’s hard security having been ensured by NATO since the 1950s, a setup in which the role of the United States is crucial, has clashed with the current reality of new threats emerging in a rapidly changing world and of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. With a potential second Trump Presidency in America, the question of Europe making its own way in security and defence must be addressed.

Trans-European Policy Studies Association

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