News from Germany
Status report Afghanistan At the moment 1250 German soldiers are on duty in the foreign mission of the Bundeswehr “Resolute Support”. According to recent press releases, the last 100 German soldiers have left the Kunduz region. The Federal Chairman of the German Armed Forces Association, André Wüstner, warns that lessons …
Once Again a New Initiative!
On 25 June 2018 defence ministers from nine European countries signed a letter of intent on creating the European Intervention Initiative (EII). Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK – at this moment all EU member states – declared their willingness to set up a …
A Common European Defence Market – How to Tackle Fragmentation
This event is the third in the series “Overcoming Obstacles on the Way Towards a European Army” jointly organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom (FNF) & EUROMIL. Among the main targets of European defence initiatives is the fragmentation and inefficiency of the European defence market. European Union member states currently procure 80% of …
The Eagle Took Off
Ten years ago, on 13 December 2007, the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union signed the Lisbon Treaty. They agreed amongst others “on the progressive framing of a common defence policy that might lead to common defence”. It needed however several years before …
Democratic Control of Armed Forces – From National to European Oversight
The Brussels Office of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom together with the European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL) organized the second event of the tripartite series „Overcoming Obstacles on the Way to European Army“ on 31 October 2017. This public debate pursued the question, if and how democratic control mechanisms over …
Democratic Control – from National to European Oversight
This event is the second in the series “Overcoming Obstacles on the Way Towards a European Army” jointly organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom (FNF) & EUROMIL. Placing armed forces under democratic control is one of the major achievements of Western democracies in the last century. Parliamentary oversight mechanisms were established with the …
United in Military Diversity – How to Accommodate Diverging Military Cultures
This event is the first in the series “Overcoming Obstacles on the Way Towards a European Army” jointly organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom (FNF) & EUROMIL. Every national military organisation has throughout history developed a unique culture. This is being expressed in terms of the citizen’s and employee’s rights of the …
PESCO? Soon a Reality?
Permanent Structured Cooperation, better known under its acronym PESCO, is almost something as EUROMILLIONS winners: everybody knows that they exist, but nobody knows where and who they are! PESCO is a tool provided by the Lisbon Treaty to change the current patchwork of bilateral and multilateral military cooperation in Europe …
The Bratislava Summit
On 16 September 2016, the heads of state and government of 27 EU countries (all except for the UK) met for an informal summit in Bratislava, Slovakia to discuss the current situation of the EU, as well at the way forward. The Bratislava Declaration and Roadmap includes concrete steps and …
Preparing for the next step!
Those who thought that the summer 2016 would only be remembered for the beforehand much discussed Olympic Games in Rio lost their bet! Sport events were all-over the news during the past months: The European football championship in France, the Tour de France, the Olympics in Rio and several other …