About: strategic autonomy
France welcomes Germany’s new ‘pro-European’ coalition agreement
The coalition deal struck between three parties that will form Germany's next government is very much in line with France's own ambitions and priorities, including its vision of a more federal EU. EURACTIV France reports.
Europe has to become a security provider, says EU’s Borrell
European citizens want to be protected by the European Union, which is why it must become a security provider, EU chief diplomat Joseph Borrell told several European media outlets in an interview.
EU leaders caught in either-or argument over European defence strategy
Amid disunity over the way forward on European defence, EU leaders discussed on Tuesday night (5 October) whether the bloc should enhance its capacity to act independently while strengthening its partnership with NATO.
Intel to invest up to €80 billion in boosting EU chip capacity
Intel Corp on Tuesday (7 September) said it could invest as much as €80 billion in Europe over the next decade to boost the region's chip capacity and will open up its semiconductor plant in Ireland for automakers.
Michel : Afghanistan is a failure for the international community
European Council President Charles Michel gave a scathing assessment of the recent US withdrawal from Afghanistan in an interview for the French website Le Grand Continent on Wednesday (8 September), pointing out the need for the EU to step up efforts to build its strategic autonomy.
Slovenia’s defence minister: EU will learn its lessons from Afghanistan
In case the EU wishes to become a more reliable security provider and global actor, it needs to avoid past mistakes and develop credible military intervention forces that are able to project stability in our neighbourhood, Slovenia’s defence minister Matej...
Borrell: EU should prepare for the next crises – Iraq, Sahel
The fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the chaotic international evacuation effort shows that Europe needs to develop its own military capacity independent of the United States, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell argues.
EU unveils plan to cut dependency on China, others
The European Union unveiled on Wednesday (5 May) a plan to cut its dependency on Chinese and other foreign suppliers in six strategic areas like raw materials, pharmaceutical ingredients and semiconductors after the pandemic-induced economic slump.
Breton: Europe was too naive before, now we are in the driving seat
Europe will remain open to everyone but will no longer be naive in the face of the rapidly changing world and will seek to be in the driving seat, Commissioner Thierry Breton told EURACTIV and a group of media ahead of the presentation of the update of the EU's industrial strategy on Wednesday (5 May).
A new transatlantic agenda
Instead of asking what the US can do for Europe we must ask ourselves what we can do for each other, writes Gunnar Hökmark.
Academic cooperation and European strategic autonomy – sideshow or part of the puzzle?
The EU’s strategic autonomy is being ever more tied to the notion of Europe’s (exclusive) access to key technologies, and as a result, academia suddenly finds itself drawn into a conflictual space, writes Thomas Jorgensen.
Revamped EU-India link could re-balance China ties, Portuguese FM says
Relations between the EU and India, especially in the context of an increasingly influential China, will be the central point of the Portuguese EU presidency, Portugal's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Borrell: Trump has awakened us from strategic sleepwalking
The arrival of US President Donald Trump in 2016 has "awakened" the EU and made it realise it was too dependent on Washington, prompting a trend of boosting Europe's autonomy, the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, told EURACTIV's media partner EFE in an interview.
How European sovereignty can survive Joe Biden
Europeans need to use the fillip to transatlantic relations brought by Joe Biden's election win to become the kind of capable partner Biden’s America will want and need, writes Jeremy Shapiro.
‘Geopolitical’ Europe aims to extend its digital sovereignty from China
The European Commission intends to act as a strong geopolitical player at next week's EU-China video meeting. But to do so, Europe must extend its 'digital sovereignty', also with regards to China. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU’s threat analysis running out of time as bloc’s security problems multiply
EU defence ministers agreed at an informal meeting in Berlin on Wednesday (26 August) to work closer together militarily and develop a common strategic culture, highlighting the growing need for Europe's common defence policy at a time of escalating challenges in the bloc's neighbourhood.OpinionPromoted content
Make The Right Choice!
As I write, finally, cautiously, but steadily, things are beginning to return to a version of normal across Europe. For many of us, it’s like we are waking from a dream, or, maybe more accurately, some kind of nightmare. Abraham...
Defence and security win battle but not war, in EU budget plans
While the new EU budget proposal charts an improvement from the European Commission’s previously planned outlay for the bloc’s defence initiatives, it still remains far from original ambitions. On Wednesday (27 May), the European Commission increased the total financial firepower...
EDA chief: We need both, strategic autonomy and defence cooperation
With all the new types of challenges emerging in Europe, NATO can no longer do the job on its own, which is why Europe has to step up its defence cooperation, Jorge Domecq, who heads the European Defence Agency (EDA), told EURACTIV in his end-of-term interview.
France’s Macron decries NATO ‘brain death’ ahead of anniversary
European countries can no longer rely on the United States to defend NATO allies, French President Emmanuel Macron warned in an interview on Thursday (7 November), only weeks ahead of a meeting of NATO leaders in London, supposed to mend the widening cracks in the Western military alliance.
Macron’s coalition of European militaries grows in force
As Norway and Sweden recently joined the French-led European Intervention Initiative (EI2) and the military coalition's defence ministers accepted Italy's participation request, Emmanuel Macron's European defence dream is seeing a silent but steady advance.
EU defence funding far too small for big ambitions: report
EU's objective to increase defence spending to €22.5 billion over the next decade is insufficient for its ambitions in the sector, the European Court of Auditors said Thursday (12 September) in its annual review paper on the bloc's defence cooperation and policy.
Von der Leyen assigns defence challenge to France
France's former defence minister, Sylvie Goulard, has been proposed as the EU's internal market Commissioner. But her new portfolio also includes a strengthened European defence file, which analysts say will be her biggest challenge.