The European Union proposed creating a security structure with like-minded allies to confront growing threats amid doubts about President Donald Trump’s commitment toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated a so-called European Security Council during her state of the union address in Strasbourg, France, Wednesday.
“Europe needs its own counter-hybrid playbook. We urgently need a consensus on how to respond to certain incidents,” Von der Leyen said. “The urgency is clear. And the principle is simple: Europe’s security is indivisible.”
The plan would create an emergency security protocol that, when triggered by member states, would activate all countries to convene and coordinate a European response. It would also create a format focused on security with partners like Ukraine, the UK, Norway and Canada.
The initiative comes as Europe grapples with a shifting geopolitical climate over the past few years as the US has threatened to pull back from NATO and China has become an increasingly important global player.
France and other member states have supported pan-European initiatives to regain control on security matters, including a European Security Council. The EU’s defense chief, Andrius Kubilius, has also been calling for setting up such format.
But the idea, which could group nations like UK, Ukraine or Canada, would clash with US-led NATO, the main provider of security for the continent. NATO has long bristled at what they perceive as the EU duplicating its structures without the actual war-fighting competences and procedures to back it up.
“Can we seriously afford to spend time, money and energy creating an alternative to NATO from scratch — and to do so within an entity that doesn’t even have defense within its remit?,” said Bartosz Grodecki, head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, an advisory body to the country’s president, stressing the increasing risk of Russian escalation in Eastern Europe. “I see this as a purely political declaration.”
Photo: Ursula von der Leyen delivers her annual State of the Union address on Sept. 16. Photographer: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/Getty Images
Topics Europe
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Aon Raises $13.5 Billion From Bond Sale to Fund USI Takeover 
Where Have all the Atlantic Hurricanes Gone? 
Powerful El Niño Nears Record Strength, US Forecasters Say 
Insurance Companies Join Letter to Push TPLF Disclosure in Federal Courts 
