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Independence play: Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy ecfr.eu 49 facts
claimFrench-style European strategic autonomy is divisive in Estonia because it is perceived to overlap with NATO.
perspectiveSpain views NATO as key to its security policy and believes European strategic autonomy should focus on post-conflict stabilisation and crisis management in the European Union’s neighbourhood, particularly the Mediterranean.
perspectiveSweden fears that European Strategic Autonomy initiatives will duplicate the efforts of NATO, as Sweden maintains that territorial defence is not a task for the European Union.
claimPoland is expected to continue viewing the United States and NATO as pillars of its security policy even if a new government takes power, though it may adopt a more positive approach to European strategic autonomy than it does under the current leadership.
perspectiveRomania would be concerned if European Strategic Autonomy efforts served as a substitute for NATO or distanced Romania from NATO and the United States.
claimDutch officials believe European strategic autonomy initiatives should focus on Europe's neighbourhood and potentially sub-Saharan Africa, while reserving territorial defence as a task for NATO.
perspectiveFrance views European Strategic Autonomy as compatible with NATO membership because it strengthens European countries' credibility as security actors and allies capable of contributing to collective defence.
claimHungarian foreign policy and defence officials assert that the European Union should not attempt to rival NATO, and therefore Hungary advocates for a modest level of ambition regarding European Strategic Autonomy (ESA).
referenceItaly's 2015 white paper on defence and 2018 plurennial document on defence state that European strategic autonomy is complementary to NATO, which should act with the European Union to reinforce Europe’s role as a security provider.
perspectiveRomanian officials argue that collective defense should remain the responsibility of NATO, while European Strategic Autonomy initiatives should prioritize military and civilian capabilities and readiness.
perspectiveSlovenian policymakers and experts frame the debate on European strategic autonomy (ESA) in terms of the need for the European Union to make a greater contribution to NATO.
perspectiveExperts in Estonia view European Strategic Autonomy as unnecessary and damaging to NATO, while experts in Lithuania view it as potentially delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between NATO and European Union activities.
perspectiveSlovenian officials view European strategic autonomy (ESA) and NATO as perfectly compatible, allowing for a division of tasks between the two entities.
claimMaltese officials believe European strategic autonomy efforts and NATO can be compatible, provided NATO avoids delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities, and they view American concerns about European strategic autonomy as a misunderstanding that Europe needs to resolve.
claimRomania believes that European Strategic Autonomy and NATO are compatible as long as Europe avoids decoupling, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities.
perspectiveThe Croatian government advocates for making European Strategic Autonomy and NATO compatible with each other.
perspectiveLatvian officials perceive NATO and European strategic autonomy as compatible, provided that Europe avoids delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between the activities of the two frameworks.
claimEuropean strategic autonomy initiatives involve closer security cooperation between European Union member states and a focus on threats to Europe that are not addressed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
claimEuropean strategic autonomy encompasses nuclear deterrence, the transatlantic relationship, NATO, and various forms of strategic autonomy, areas in which the United Kingdom will continue to play a crucial role post-Brexit.
perspectiveThe Czech government views European strategic autonomy efforts and NATO as compatible, provided that Europe avoids delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities.
claimHungary believes that European Strategic Autonomy efforts and NATO can be compatible, provided that Europe avoids delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between the activities of the two organizations.
claimBy improving Europe's strategic autonomy, France aims to ensure that the continent can protect its security interests even if the United States and NATO do not or cannot act.
claimThe Netherlands delegates nuclear deterrence to NATO and views European strategic autonomy as useful only for post-conflict stabilisation and crisis management in Europe’s neighbourhood.
measurementSpain is among the one-third of European Union member states that see NATO and European strategic autonomy as compatible with each other.
claimLuxembourg's leaders invoke the principle of European strategic autonomy in the context of recent United States political developments, such as the election of President Donald Trump, which have cast doubt on the NATO security guarantee.
perspectivePortugal considers European strategic autonomy and NATO compatible, provided Europe avoids delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities.
perspectiveThe Netherlands maintains that NATO should remain the cornerstone of Dutch and European security, and that the pursuit of European strategic autonomy must not weaken NATO or delink European security from American security.
perspectiveThe Polish government will subscribe to European strategic autonomy efforts only if they complement NATO and avoid delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities.
perspectiveSlovakia supports the pursuit of European strategic autonomy (ESA) primarily because it recognizes the need to strengthen the European pillar of NATO.
claimDiscussions of European strategic autonomy in Lithuania are often limited to the issues of a proposed European army or the initiative’s potential to clash with NATO.
claimGreek officials follow the 'single set of forces' principle, which aims to complement European strategic autonomy with NATO.
perspectiveRomanian elites view European Strategic Autonomy (ESA) as a mechanism for Europe's consolidation and coordination of defense policies, but they consider NATO the only means to protect national security.
perspectiveBulgarians emphasize that cooperation on European strategic autonomy does not require the creation of a European army or an alternative to NATO.
perspectiveLithuania opposes any attempts to delink, duplicate, or discriminate between European strategic autonomy efforts and NATO activities, viewing the United States as a key partner in defending against Russia.
perspectiveLithuanian officials perceive European strategic autonomy as a pragmatic tool for managing Europe's neighborhood, but they explicitly reject it as a substitute for NATO.
perspectivePortugal views European strategic autonomy as complementary to NATO, provided it enhances transatlantic security and defense cooperation, and considers NATO paramount in its foreign and security policy.
claimThe Danish government feared that the pursuit of European strategic autonomy through the creation of an European Union army would have disrupted the transatlantic relationship and altered the position of NATO within the European security architecture.
claimThe Netherlands views European strategic autonomy initiatives as opportunities to assist NATO in areas where the alliance has fewer capabilities or less experience, such as counter-terrorism and civilian border patrol.
perspectiveSlovenia regards NATO as a collective defense system protecting the European Union from external threats, and believes European strategic autonomy (ESA) initiatives can enable Europe to play a stronger role within the alliance and become a security actor in its neighborhood.
claimEstonia is the only European Union member state where officials explicitly characterize current European strategic autonomy efforts as unnecessary and damaging to NATO.
claimBulgarian officials view European strategic autonomy and NATO as compatible, provided that member states avoid delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities.
perspectiveFinland views European strategic autonomy as fully compatible with and complementary to NATO, believing that a more capable and integrated Europe makes for a more valuable partner for the United States.
claimIreland believes that United States criticism of European strategic autonomy efforts is motivated by economic concerns rather than a genuine belief that these efforts threaten NATO.
perspectiveSlovakia views European strategic autonomy (ESA) efforts as compatible with NATO, provided that Europe avoids delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between the activities of the two.
claimBecause Turkey prevents Cyprus from joining NATO, the government of Cyprus believes that European strategic autonomy efforts and NATO should avoid delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities to ensure the European Union can rely on NATO's command structure.
claimAlmost all European Union member states consider European Strategic Autonomy to be compatible with their NATO commitments, provided they avoid delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between NATO and European Union activities.
perspectiveGreece aims to pursue European strategic autonomy initiatives while maintaining a strong link to NATO.
claimLatvians generally view NATO as a more natural and credible framework than European strategic autonomy efforts for addressing their primary military concern, which is territorial defense against Russia.
measurementIn an ECFR survey, Estonia and Lithuania expressed concern about the compatibility of NATO and European Strategic Autonomy, citing risks of delinking, duplicating, or discriminating between their activities.
Transatlantic relations and European strategic autonomy in the ... - FIIA fiia.fi 1 fact
claimRevitalizing political cooperation within NATO and between the European Union and NATO is a necessary condition for the success of the European strategic autonomy model.
EU Strategic Autonomy and Transatlantic Relations linkedin.com 1 fact
claimThe debate on European strategic autonomy is currently being reshaped by the Russia–Ukraine war, NATO dynamics, defence industrial capacity, and technological sovereignty.