International Affairs

U.S. Response to European Rapid Defence Force

On Tuesday, December 5, U.S. Secretary of Defence William Cohen warned the European Union (EU) against any ambitions to strike out on its own in matters of defence. He said that any suggestion of an eventual U.S. withdrawal from Europe "has no foundation in fact or in policy". While the U.S. needs the European powers to play a bigger role in NATO (both financially and militarily), its aim has been to achieve this through co-operation while maintaining U.S. control.

Cohen's remarks came on the eve of the European Union's summit in Nice. They were in response to the November 20 EU announcement of its intention adopt a European Security and Defence Policy that would be an instrument of both European defence and of the EU's interests beyond Europe. One element of that policy was to create a common rapid defence force comprised of 100,000 troops, 400 combat aircraft and 100 ships capable of responding to a variety of military situations in Europe and beyond.

Many European officials believe that Cohen's remarks were intended to set the tone for the incoming U.S.administration's dealings with Europe. They appear to indicate that the U.S. is frustrated with the rebuffs it has received from its NATO allies regarding the American security agenda in Europe, particularly with the recent decision to establish a common European defence force.

Cohen's remarks were aimed directly at those European powers, most notably France, that see the establishment of this policy as a means to undermine NATO and U.S. military dominance in Europe. While the establishment of a separate European military force will go ahead, the U.S. is demanding that there be one integrated military command under the control of NATO. Cohen warned that NATO commitments to provide the EU force with high-tech weaponry in a crisis would be in jeopardy unless the EU guarantees fuller cooperation and NATO's pre-eminence in European security. Clearly, if a centralized and integrated military command under NATO is accepted, the planned EU defence force is unlikely to ever develop a role outside the alliance as NATO will remain in control.

The U.S. has succeeded for the time being. Under intense pressure from the British, the Nice Summit , and in particular the French, backtracked on European ambitions for its defence force. Speaking for the French government Mr. Chirac acknowledged that NATO would remain the foundation of Western Europe's collective defence interests. He also denied that "independence" from NATO had been one of France's objectives for the European Union. However, in carefully chosen words that hint at European ambitions to act independently in matters not affecting the immediate collective security of Europe, he insisted that the EU would acquire the military means -- in equipment and command structure -- to "defend its interests" and handle crises.