361Security
  • Intelligence
    • Analysis
    • Regions >
      • Global
      • Africa >
        • Kenya
        • Nigeria
        • Somalia
      • Asia >
        • Afghanistan
        • Myanmar (Burma)
        • India
        • North Korea
        • Pakistan
      • Europe >
        • Russia
      • Latin America >
        • Brazil
        • Colombia
        • El Salvador
        • Honduras
        • Mexico
        • Venezuela
      • Middle East >
        • Iran
        • Iraq
        • Jordan
        • Kuwait
        • Lebanon
        • Libya
        • Saudi Arabia
        • Syria
        • Turkey
        • Yemen
    • 'The First 300' Project
  • Services
    • US Government Services
    • Jobs Portal >
      • Leads
    • Shop
    • External Links
    • Consulting
    • Human Security
    • Development Nexus
    • Request For Information
    • Market Security
    • Key Leader Dossiers
    • Information Security
    • Literature Reviews
    • Cultural Intelligence
    • Research Resources
    • Forums (Beta)
    • Files
    • Security & Stability
    • Terrorist Profiles
  • Communications
    • About
    • Advertising
    • Public Affairs
    • Contributors >
      • Zachary Alpert
      • Paul Ashley
      • Michael Bassett
      • Ben Eden
      • Jeffrey Hawn
      • Nick Heras
      • Attila Laczko
      • Brandon Scott
      • Chris VanKirk
    • Mailing List

Britain's Place in Europe

3/18/2013

Comments

 


Is the growing noise in Britain over its potential EU exit a sign of a deeper crisis within the continent?

Speaking at a conference in Berlin in October of 2012, British Foreign Secretary William Hague observed that “public disillusionment with the EU in Britain is the deepest it has ever been.“ While large segments of British society have grown weary of “Brussels“ and everything it presumably stands for, and with politicians catering to and reinforcing this weariness, many Europeans are starting to wonder aloud whether the UK really is an indispensable part of Europe – or whether it would not be better to part ways in somewhat amicable fashion.

This is a dangerous dynamic, to say the least. Some of the criticism directed at London from the continent has been understandable. However, Europeans on the continent have to recognize the very particular public opinion in Britain, and they should recognize what Britain can bring to the table.

The biggest countries in the European Union – Britain and Germany among them, evidently – have always had different ideas about the shape and the purpose of the European Union. But until the crisis exposed the fundamental flaws in the construction of EU and Eurozone, it was comparatively easy, albeit sometimes ugly, to bridge these differences. No longer: the debate about how much Europe we need in terms of institutions and transfer of sovereignty in order to emerge from the crisis and to build a foundation for a functioning Europe of the future is also a debate about whether Britain will continue to be a part of a EU. It’s impossible to know how this will play out over the coming months and years. But there is a real risk of an eventual British exit.

Under these circumstances, it is all the more important to zero in on issues where our mutual interest overwhelmingly calls for closer cooperation, not alienation. Foreign and defense policy is one of them.

At first, that might seem counter-intuitive. After all, foreign and defense policy has been particularly prone to predominantly national policies and has been characterized by a lack of joint European progress. Take defense procurement, for instance, where vested interests reign supreme, from the contractors to the armed forces and politicians. The failed merger between EADS and BAE Systems certainly is a very good, and regrettable, example for this. Moreover, it is true that European states have different strategic cultures and priorities, that they put different emphases on the importance of security policy and that they are reluctant to create dependencies on others in this field.

Thus, common European foreign and defense policy looks to be even messier than European affairs in other policy areas. And yet, it is not altogether unrealistic to expect much deeper and more meaningful defense cooperation in Europe in the foreseeable future. Those who merely consider concepts like “Smart Defense“ and “Pooling and Sharing“ old ideas somewhat repackaged underestimate the pressures bearing down on the European defense establishment.

First, the defense sector is clearly feeling a tightening of financial screws. Second, greater demands are being placed on the armed forces, which will only further increase as the United States continues to "re-balance" toward the Pacific, putting even greater pressure on Europe to be able to operate in its own neighborhood should a crisis occur. Finally, the unpredictability of the future security environment will require greater coordination and effectiveness from European militaries.

In the long run, closer defense cooperation within Europe will not only save money, increase trust, and improve capabilities. Closer defense cooperation may well also aid in converging strategic cultures, making more cooperation likely, creating a sort of virtuous circle.

That being said, we should not expect any miracles, let alone steps toward a European army. This does remain a worthwhile long-term objective, but on such an exceptionally loaded and complicated issue, incremental change may be the best we can hope for. Should Europe ever move ahead decisively on defense matters, the impulse will have to come from the very top, with leaders taking truly game-changing decisions on the scope and depth of cooperation.

It goes almost without saying that any such attempts to pool and share (more) military assets in Europe would be unthinkable without the strong involvement of the United Kingdom. The same is true when it comes to foreign policy and a strategic global outlook in a more general sense. We are all aware that the relative importance and clout of European states in the world will continuously diminish over the coming years and decades. We will either act largely together or be largely irrelevant – dependent on the United States to safeguard a liberal international order. If Europe is to play the role of a major global player that is able to defend its interests and values in an increasingly complex and complicated multi-polar international order, Britain will have to be an essential part of that.

As Timothy Garton Ash wrote recently, “Why not let Britain take a leading role in a hard core for foreign and security policy, while Germany leads in the economic and monetary one? France would, of course, continue to play a very important part in both. Countries like Poland hope in time to do the same.” Britain’s experience in diplomacy and international affairs, including its seat in the UN Security Council, its able military, its championship of free trade, and its function as a bridge over the Atlantic are critical assets. Without them, Europe in the future would likely take a more narrow, inward-looking, maybe even protectionist perspective. In the words of German journalist Jan Ross, the EU without the UK would be a “Europe with a shrunk horizon”.

However, Britain stands to lose even more should it opt for a course outside of Europe. ‘Independence’ from Brussels may for some time feel liberating, but, in the medium and long run, would harm Britain’s prosperity severely. Tony Blair deserves applause for drawing attention to the negative consequences of a British exit from the EU. 

Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski put it this way in a speech in Blenheim Palace in September of 2012: “Your interests are in Europe. It’s high time for your sentiments to follow. Your leaders need to make a more vocal case for your European interests.“ He added, “You could, if only you wished, lead Europe’s defense policy.“

Indeed, Britain could. And, hopefully, not too far into the future, it will.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and should not be construed as representing the official position of 361 Security nor do they necessarily reflect Fair Observer's editorial policy.

This is a repost from http://www.fairobserver.com/article/britains-place-europe

Wolfgang Ischinger is the former Ambassador to the US and UK. Wolfgang is Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Global Head of Government Relations at Allianz SE, and serves among others on the European Advisory Board of Investcorp and on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. He was in the German Foreign Service after working in the United Nations in New York and completing his law degree from the University of Geneva and then his Master's deg
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

    Archives

    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    Afghanistan
    Africa
    Algeria
    Al Nusrah Front
    Al-Nusrah Front
    Al Qaeda
    Al Qaeda
    Al Shabaab
    Al-Shabaab
    Americas
    AMISOM
    Anarchists
    Ansar Al Sharia
    Ansar Al-Sharia
    Anti-Semitic
    AQAP
    AQIM
    Arab Spring
    Arab-spring
    Argentina
    Asia
    Asymmetrical Warfare
    Australia
    Austria
    Baghdad
    Bahrain
    Bangladesh
    Belgium
    Blackmarket
    Boko Haram
    Bomb
    Borneo
    Bosnia
    British
    Burundi
    Cairo
    Caliphate
    Cameroon
    Canada
    Car Bomb
    Cartels
    Caucasus
    Central-african-republic
    Chad
    Charity
    Chechen
    Chechnya
    Chile
    China
    Colombia
    Crime
    Crimea
    Cuba
    Czech
    Denmark
    Diaoyu
    Djibouti
    Drug Trafficking
    Dubai
    Egypt
    Elections
    Eln
    El-salvador
    Eta
    Ethiopia
    Europe
    Execution
    Explosives
    Farc
    Fatah
    Financing
    France
    Gas-attacks
    Gaza-strip
    Germany
    Global
    Golan-heights
    Great Britain
    Greece
    Guantanamo-bay
    Gulf Cooperation Council
    Hamas
    Haqqani
    Haqqani-network
    Hezballah
    Holland
    Hostage
    Human Trafficking
    Ied
    India
    Indonesia
    Inspire
    Insurgency
    Iran
    Iraq
    Ireland
    Isil
    Isis
    Islamic-revolutionary-guard
    Islamic State
    Islamist
    Israel
    Italy
    Japan
    Jeffrey Hawn
    Jerusalem
    Jihadist
    Jordan
    Kabul
    Kashmir
    Kenya
    KGB
    Kidnapped
    Kidnapping
    Kosovo
    Kurdistan
    Kuwait
    Latin America
    Latin-america
    Lebanon
    Lej
    Let
    Libya
    London
    Los Zetas
    Maghreb
    Malaysia
    Mali
    Maoist
    Maritime
    Mauritania
    Mecca
    Mek
    Mend
    Mexico
    Middle East
    Milf
    Militants
    Militia
    Mogadishu
    Morocco
    Mortar-attack
    Muslim-brotherhood
    Myanmar
    Narcotics
    NATO
    Netherlands
    Niger
    Nigeria
    Northan Ireland
    North Korea
    Norway
    Nuclear
    Pakistan
    Palestine
    Peru
    Philippines
    Pij
    Pipe-bomb
    Pira
    Piracy
    Pirates
    Plf
    Plfi
    Poland
    Portugal
    Presidential-elections
    Propaganda
    Puntland
    Putin
    Qatar
    Quds-force-brigade
    Reconnaissance
    Rocket-attack
    Russia
    Sahrawi-republic
    Salafist
    Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia
    Security
    Senegal
    Senkaku
    Serbia
    Shooting
    Sierra-leone
    Sinai
    Small Arms Proliferation
    Smuggling
    Somalia
    South-africa
    South-sudan
    Space
    Spain
    Spectacular
    Sri-lanka
    Strategic Defense
    Sudan
    Suicide Attack
    Switzerland
    Syria
    Tahrir
    Taliban
    Tanker
    Tanzania
    Terrorism
    Terrorists
    Terrorist Threat
    Thailand
    Threats
    Training
    Ttp
    Tuareg
    Tunisia
    Turkey
    UAE
    Uganda
    Ukraine
    UN
    United Kingdom
    United-nations
    United States
    Uvied
    Uyghur
    Vbied
    Vehicle-borne-ied
    Warfare
    Weapons
    West-bank
    Worldwide
    Yemen

    RSS Feed

© 2011 - 2018