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
- Global Instability Makes Europe More Attractive, Not LessCommentary
Europe isn’t as weak in the new geopolitics of power as many would believe. But to leverage its assets and claim a sphere of influence, Brussels must stop undercutting itself.
Dimitar Bechev
- Europe on Iran: Gone with the WindCommentary
Europe’s reaction to the war in Iran has been disunited and meek, a far cry from its previously leading role in diplomacy with Tehran. To avoid being condemned to the sidelines while escalation continues, Brussels needs to stand up for international law.
Pierre Vimont
- Taking the Pulse: Can European Defense Survive the Death of FCAS?Commentary
France and Germany’s failure to agree on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) raises questions about European defense. Amid industrial rivalries and competing strategic cultures, what does the future of European military industrial projects look like?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Macron Makes France a Great Middle PowerCommentary
France has stopped clinging to notions of being a great power and is embracing the middle power moment. But Emmanuel Macron has his work cut out if he is to secure his country’s global standing before his term in office ends.
Rym Momtaz
- How Europe Can Survive the AI Labor TransitionCommentary
Integrating AI into the workplace will increase job insecurity, fundamentally reshaping labor markets. To anticipate and manage this transition, the EU must build public trust, provide training infrastructures, and establish social protections.
Amanda Coakley
