Commentary
Judy Dempsey
{
"authors": [
"Judy Dempsey"
],
"type": "commentary",
"blog": "Strategic Europe",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Europe"
],
"topics": []
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
Judy Asks: Why Shouldn't France Lead European Defense?
Every week leading experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey on the international challenges shaping Europe's role in the world.
By Judy Dempsey
Published on Jan 30, 2013
Every week leading experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey on the international challenges shaping Europe's role in the world.
Stephen F. Szaboexecutive director, Transatlantic Academy
France and Britain are the only two serious military powers within the EU. Both have a strategic sense of the world and possess regional expertise beyond Europe as a result of their imperial traditions. Europe needs both countries if it wants to be a serious defense player as neither alone has sufficient military capabilities to support more than very limited operations. Yet national powers will pursue national, not European, interests when committing their armed forces. Only a European authority will be able to speak and act for Europe. While France and Britain should take the lead in creating a European defense policy, defense forces, and defense industry, they should know that taking unilateral action as France has just done in Mali won’t work. Presenting European and U.S. partners with a fait accompli is not the right way. That won’t prod Europe into acting together. Only when one or both of the most serious military powers demonstrate that they recognize that national security can no longer be obtained at the national level will Europe begin to be a serious defense power.
About the Author
Judy Dempsey
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe
Dempsey is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe
- Europe Needs to Hear What America is Saying
- Babiš’s Victory in Czechia Is Not a Turning Point for European PopulistsCommentary
Judy Dempsey
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Strategic Europe
- How to Join the EU in Three Easy StepsCommentary
Montenegro and Albania are frontrunners for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, but they can’t just sit back and wait. To meet their 2030 accession ambitions, they must make a strong positive case.
Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni
- Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran War?Commentary
Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- On NATO, Trump Should Embrace France Instead of Bashing ItCommentary
Donald Trump’s repudiation of NATO goes against the Make America Great Again vision of a U.S.-centered foreign policy. If the goal is to preserve the alliance by boosting Europe’s commitments, leaning into France’s vision is the most America First way forward.
Rym Momtaz
- Win or Lose, Orbán Has Broken Hungary’s DemocracyCommentary
Hungarians head to the polls on April 12 for an election of national and European consequence. Three different outcomes are on the cards, each with their own implications for the EU.
Zsuzsanna Szelényi
- Is France Shifting Rightward?Commentary
The far right failed to win big in France’s municipal elections. But that’s not good news for the country’s left wing, which remained disunited while the broader right consolidated its momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Catherine Fieschi
