In the Depth and in the Width? Europeanisation of Defence Forces as Well as ‘Extra’ EU and NATO Co-Operation

Abstract

This panel combines two panels: one on Europeanization of the Member States armed forces and one on European defense co-operation outside EU and NATO. The two partly overlap. This panel aims at getting an overview of Europeanization within the field of defense-policy including the armed forces. How Europeanized are the national defense forces? Does the accreditation according to EU standards mean serious Europeanisation of the Battlegroups and thus the national armed forces, or is it in reality more relevant to discuss ‘NATO-ization’? European defense co-operation outside EU and NATO. Outside the frames of either the EU or NATO defense co-operation seem to flourish. One scheme getting attention is the French ‘European Intervention Initiative’ which is created to strengthen the European capability to intervene, militarily, outside Europe and to give the United Kingdom as future non-Member State, as well as the ‘defense opt-outer’ Denmark a possibility to contribute to solving problems outside Europe. At the sub-regional level, security and defense cooperation takes place without paying much attention to institutional membership. As an example, in Scandinavia the Nordic Defense Cooperation includes Denmark (NATO and EU member), Norway (NATO member), and Sweden and Finland (EU members), and in Central Europe one finds the Central European Defense Co-operation including Austria (EU member and neutral), the Czech Republic (EU and NATO member), Slovakia (EU and NATO member), Hungary (EU and NATO member), Slovenia (EU and NATO member) and Croatia (EU and NATO member). Which potentials do these kinds of co-operation have? Are they ‘just’ pragmatic solutions to practical problems or could they be interpreted as first, small steps towards further European co-operation or even integration, as one saw it with Justice and Home Affairs? In other words, this section also addresses how European policies develop.