INDUSTRIES
Europe’s Position in Security and Defence Issues – a Capacity to Act is Desperately Needed by Oliver Bruzek, Director International Markets, CAE, Stolberg (Rheinland) Europe’s days of comfort are now certainly a thing of the past. For many decades the European Union in the fold or - depending on one’s view - the shadow of the super powers had plenty of time to attend to its own organisational development, the expansion of the economic performance of its member states and the shaping of a sustainable civil society. After the upheavals in the late 1980s it was again Europe that was able to benefit most from the changed political situation. The borders of the European Union have extended and the scope of economic prosperity and democratic social order has almost doubled, while the USA, as the only remaining super power, became a victim of hegemonic politics under the cloak of global democratisation and Russia was busy with the stabilisation of its own country and trying to find its future self-conception.
The new geopolitical facts The situation today is quite different. With the partly failed military mission in Iraq, which has driven the country to its economic limitations, and one of the greatest financial crises in recent history, the USA will – at least in the next ten years – have to focus all its energy on consolidating its national finances. After the bitter experience in Iraq most of the American people are war-weary and want their Administration to concentrate on the domestic affairs that concern them. On a global level the United States operations will be clearly more reserved than in the past. There is a growing understanding for the necessity of closer cooperation and coordination with the European partners. The previous latent mindset as to the European states - if necessary – “divide et impera” is changing towards a desire for strong allies and a single reliable partner on this continent. Thanks to its sheer geographical size, its energy-political resources and the economic performance that goes with that, Russia, on the other hand, is gaining in self-assurance and is in this self-concept calling for a reinstatement of status of a global power. Russia’s position should not be underestimated. Against the background of the collapse of the former Soviet Union, which was not so long ago, some people, going by the winner’s rules, still tend to assume the natural subjugation of the loser of the Cold War as something quite normal. And it is in the end this characteristic style that has led to - and will always lead to - an inappropriate fierceness in any discussions. However, all this does not mean a return to a bipolar world order, alone for the reason that with China there is a third power with global importance also playing a part. In fact
Oliver Bruzek born in 1968 since 2008: Director International Markets, CAE (Stolberg) 2007 - 2008: Director General, Brain-World (Ulm) 2002 - 2007: Director Government Relations, EADS Defense and Security (Ulm) 1999-2002: Consultant Marketing, Euromissile (Paris) 1997-1999: Advisor on Defense- and Security Politics, German Parliament (Bonn) 1992-1997: Eurocorps, (Strasbourg) Author of various published articles and books, i.e. “Wörterbuch zur Sicherheitspolitik” with Bühl and Kujat (Hamburg, 2001)
in future it will be a case of defending regional interests on the one hand, and at the same time – with everyone cooperating – dealing with the challenges of globalisation, be it the ecological and economical challenges or the dangers of international terrorism.
Europe has to create new capabilities in Security and Defence Europe will have to learn that the possibilities of exercising influence on the developments in Russia or in China are limited. This will certainly be the case if Europe itself is in principle not capable of acting to its full extent. An effective European diplomacy – and this was and is without doubt one of the most effective weapons of ensuring the interests of our civil societies – can in the long run only be based on a plausible ability of assertiveness on Europe’s part. What is more important, however, is the fact that there is now a much slimmer probability of others extinguishing the fires on Europe’s forecourt, as was previously the case in various African states and during the Balkan conflict. When it comes to finding a common security and defence strategy the European Union will no longer be in position for delaying things, or indeed as in the Iraq conflict not reaching a common agreement at all. Special paths for individual states to gain a national advantage in the one or other case will have to be a thing of the past, if in the long run the Union does not want to lose both its strength and its credibility. It remains to be seen to what extent in future it will be possible to transfer national sovereignty to the EU from areas where, if we are to be honest, there has been no national independence for a long time, and
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