CSS Evening Talk: The Future of European Defense

Thursday, 25 February 2016, ETH Zurich

Europe is simultaneously confronted with serious security challenges in the east and the south: from an increasingly assertive Russia, and civil war and state failure in the Middle East. Since the US can only support Europeans to a limited degree, they need combine their resource. However, the contrary seems to take place: One is witnessing a renationalization of European defense policies.

Two speakers, Dr. Hans-Georg Ehrhart, board member of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, and the CSS’s Daniel Keohane, discussed current developments in security and defense policy in the three major Western European countries of Germany, the UK, and France. The German Bundeswehr’s armament budget is set to double. Whether this will actually be implemented, and whether it translates into increased capabilities, is questionable. Britain and France will spend more on defense, as well, focusing on special operations capabilities and aircraft carriers. All these endeavors are limited, however, by financial and domestic constraints. Furthermore, the consequences for European security of a Brexit, of Britain leaving the EU, are hard to assess.