Should the European Union Defend itself?

The growth of tensions with Turkey, over migration and also the exploitation of gas reserves in the Mediterranean, puts the European Union in a difficult situation and raises a number of questions with regard to peace and security on its south-eastern flank. As Jean-François Drevet reminds us, the Atlantic Alliance (of which Turkey is a member) is weakened by the behaviour of Ankara, but doesn’t seem able to react or reform itself for the moment. And even if the cooling of relations between Ankara and Washington is likely to re-tilt the balance within the Alliance and in terms of peace-keeping in the Mediterranean region, the EU must acknowledge that it will have to rely on its own resources to deal with this situation. This implies, as Jean-François Drevet sees it, that it should make up its mind to show firmness, in order to preserve its economic interests and security through, for example, a policy of economic sanctions or even an “intervention initiative” in the Mediterranean.