27 Nation army does the EU possess defence autonomy ?

Abstract

The main purpose of the dissertation is to assess the EU defence autonomy. It examines it through an analysis of its military capabilities, institutional framework, defence spending and geopolitical position. The study analyses the history of the EU’s defence policy, transatlantic ties, internal challenges, and external threats of Russia's aggression and the US’s changing focus. The research seeks to answer the question: Does the EU possess defence autonomy? The study relies on quantitative methods, particularly NATO and EU defence spending, military capacity, and the R&D investment levels to measure the EU’s defence ambitions. Also, during qualitative analysis, the author analyses textbooks, EU policy, and empirically collected information pertaining to the study. The strategy employed provides a comprehensive assessment of EU defence ambition. This investigation demonstrates that the EU faces a security challenge in full dependence on the US for military capabilities like nuclear deterrence, rapid deployments, logistics capacities and intelligence. Despite the developments with several initiatives like PESCO, EDF, and EDA, the EU still lacks reliable military capabilities, a structured framework for unified decision-making, and consistent military spending among the member states. The thesis comes to the conclusion that the EU does not have defence autonomy yet. This can be constructed progressively via necessary changes like the establishment of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) for defence matters, the increase of coordinated defence expenditures from EU manufactures and the alignment with the US and NATO, to prevent duplications during this effort. While it is important for the EU to achieve defence autonomy, the need for a powerful transatlantic link is essential throughout this process. This research presents recommendations that would assist the European Union in becoming more self-sufficient and strengthening its autonomy regarding strategic defence matters.