6 minute read
Editorial, Hartmut Bühl
Europe at a crossroads
How could it have come to this? For the first time an anti-system and anti-European government has been formed in a founding Member State of the European Union (EU). Like previous elections in Europe, the Italian election has demonstrated once again that voter rejection of Europe is largely driven by a sometimes vicious campaign rhetoric against incumbent politicians and the EU’s failures, but also by the death of information about what the Union does in fact accomplish. Brussels simply leaves the average citizen cold. In a modern Europe and a globalised world, it is regrettable and alarming that nationalist populist movements are gaining ground in nearly all Member States. Those of us who support Europe should not lose heart, but we must not bury our heads in the sand and hope the problem will go away. After all, populist parliamentarians have been democratically elected and the reason they excoriate Brussels is that the EU has failed to come up with practical ways to address deep-seated voter apprehensions about border security and migration and Europe’s cultural identity. For decades, the EU has done much to ensure that Europeans can live together in peace. If it does not now demonstrate that it can bestir itself and take visible and decisive action instead of sticking to its usual bureaucratic routine, the gap between the institutions and citizens will further widen. Business as usual is a recipe for disaster. But how can the EU strike the right balance among the different interests of European states? Practical solutions are urgently needed and must be spelled out to the public, but there is also a need for trailblazing ideas. It doesn’t help that Brussels and the Member States are having to take their fate into their own hands at a time when they are largely unprepared to cope with the incipient collapse of the current international order – especially following the G7 meeting in Canada on
9 May 2018, which the US president torpedoed with his trademark tweets, bringing into sharp focus once again his determined efforts to undermine the rules-based international order and destabilise the EU. Shifts in the global trade and security framework call for European realpolitik. They also call for a realistic assessment of US economic and military power in light of the fact that the current occupant of the White House will have to pack his bags in just under seven years at the latest. Another seven years is not much more than one legislative period of the European Parliament. That is not a reassuring prospect, but it does set a time limit. In the face of these global upheavals and crises at home, it is important for Europe to address two crucial issues that could, if solved, give it fresh momentum and pull the rug from under nationalist populist movements across the continent: security and defence. These are enshrined in Europe’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and it is high time to flesh it out and give it real substance, particularly against the background of a possible paradigm shift in US security policy and the US attitude towards NATO. A decisive factor for Europe’s security, and the way electorates perceive it, would be a common guarantee of Europe’s external borders. How else can Europe be perceived as a strong player if it cannot protect its own borders with respect to human rights and migration policies based on burden sharing? A moral condemnation of populism is not enough. Instead, we must combat its causes. 2019 may be a decisive year for Europe. If Europe is to survive, it must virtually re-invent itself! Hartmut Bühl
Impressum The European − Security and Defence Union ProPress Publishing Group Bonn/Berlin
Headquarters Berlin: Kaskelstr. 41, D-10317 Berlin Phone: +49/30/557 412-0, Fax: +49/30/557 412-33 Brussels Office: Hartmut Bühl Phone: +49/172 3282 319, Fax: +33/684806655 E-Mail: hartmut.buehl@orange.fr Bonn Office: Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 57, D-53113 Bonn Phone: +49/228/970 97-0, Fax: +49/228/970 97-75 Executive Media & Content: Andy Francis Stirnal Phone: +49/176 6686 1543 E-Mail: andy.stirnal@magazine-the-european.com Publisher and Editor-in-Chief: Hartmut Bühl, Brussels Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Nannette Cazaubon, Paris; E-Mail: nannette.cazaubon@magazine-the-european.com Editor: Alexa Keinert, Berlin; E-mail: editor.esdu@gmail.com Publishing House: ProPress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH President ProPress Publishing Group: R. Uwe Proll Layout: Beate Dach, SpreeService- und Beratungsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin Print: WIRmachenDRUCK GmbH, Backnang The European − Security and Defence Union Magazine is published by the ProPress Publishing Group. The ProPress Publishing Group is the organiser of the congress on European Security and Defence (Berlin Security Conference), the European Police Congress and the European Congress on Disaster Management. For further information about the magazine and the congresses please visit www.magazine-the-european.com Subscription: This magazine is published in Brussels and Berlin. The copy price is 16 Euro: 3 copies for one year: 42 Euro (EU subscription) 3 copies for one year: 66 Euro (International subscription) including postage and dispatch (3 issues)
Content
3 6
Editorial, Hartmut Bühl News, Nannette Cazaubon
17–50
MAIN TOPIC Climate change A global security challenge
8–16 In the Spotlight The European Union at a crossroads
8
Mauro Petriccione, Brussels The European Union’s action on climate protection 2018 is a crucial year
10
Federico Fabbrini, Dublin EU-UK security cooperation after Brexit: opportunities but challenges A double paradox
11 Mete Coban and Stephen Kinnock MP, London Let young people have a say Europe and the UK after Brexit
14
Rachel Suissa, Haifa Israel’s perceptions of threat in an unstable geostrategic environment The Iran deal is only one solution
16
Short interview with Michael Singh, Washington D.C. Trump’s uppercut to transatlantic relations The Alliance has always survived
GLOBAL CHALLENGES
18 Documentation UN Climate Change Annual Report 2017
19
Interview with Louise van Schaik, The Hague The Planetary Security Initiative Reducing impacts emanating from environmental stresses
23 Janani Vivekananda, Berlin Climate change, conflict and crisis in Lake Chad Climate change is a risk multiplier
26
Marcus DuBois King, Washington, D.C. Violent extremism and the weaponization of water in a changing climate The footprint of water stress is expanding
28 Sinéad O’Sullivan, Washington, D.C. We must prepare and react to climate and security risks through space technologies Earth observation: a tool for security
30
Greta Nielsen, Bonn Armed forces and the challenges of climate change Climate change in military strategies
32
Documentation High-level event ”Climate, Peace and Security: The Time for Action”
ENERGY
34 Interview with Franz Untersteller MdL, Stuttgart The Under2 Coalition: how climate protection should work
Achieving the climate targets
Maroš Šefčovič, Brussels The Energy Union: boosting resilience, supporting innovation, empowering people Energy transition becomes a reality
Martin Schuster, Winterbach How to adapt energy solutions to the needs of each country The decentralisation of energy supply
Andreas Renner, Karlsruhe The energy providers’ commitment to climate protection Energy goals need to be more stringent
44 Bärbel Dieckmann, Bonn Reducing the impact of climate damage DEVELOPMENT
Judith Helfmann-Hundack / Peggy Schulz, Hamburg A new compact for a better life and peace in Africa Global-solutions-to-global-challenges
Gisbert Dreyer, Berlin Perspectives for climate-change stricken Africa The way ahead together with Europe
51–62 Security & defence Cooperation in unpredictable times
52 Jürgen Weigt, Strasbourg The foundation of interoperability is mutual confidence Human factors are key
56 Interview with Gerald Knaus, Berlin Did NATO’s intervention in the Balkans work? What are the lessons for today?
61
Ioan Mircea Pas cu MEP, Brussels/Strasbourg European Defence: the time to act Guest Commentary
62 Publication “Defence: Europe’s Awakening”, Policy Paper, Robert Schuman Foundation
“The European − Security and Defence Union” is the winner of the 2011 European Award for Citizenship, Security and Defence
