European Insecurity: France Very Exposed?

Tense relations with Russia and Turkey, terrorist threats involving relations with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, prospective confirmation of Brexit leading to the departure of a member state that is important in defence terms, reduced US involvement in the Atlantic Alliance: for some years, the context in which EU security is achieved has been evolving. The Union, which is supposed to provide the conditions for keeping the peace on the European continent – if not, indeed, beyond it – finds itself in a situation which is, if not precarious, at least more worrying so far as the preservation of the security of its member states and borders is concerned. As is shown by the adoption, in March 2018, of a “Roadmap for the Implementation of Permanent Structured Cooperation”, the EU is coming to realize this. But will advances in European defence come quickly enough to cope with the increased range of risks? Most importantly, will this cooperation enable France to share the – financial, geopolitical and material – defence burden which, to a very large extent, it bears today and cannot necessarily afford? These are among some of the questions posed in this column, which argues strongly for a renewed effort on European defence and security.