European Defence Agency’s Post

🌍 "The countries in the wider Black Sea region agree on the diagnostic regarding Russia’s revisionism and bellicose behavior but partly diverge when it comes to the adequate response. This divergence poses significant challenges for enhancing regional security and political cooperation at a time of intense volatility." How do we bridge these differences ❓ Global Focus Center Associate Fellows Marius Ghincea and Alina Inayeh provide six potential pathways for action, in their new paper "Security Cooperation in the Wider Black Sea Region. Bridging the Differences.": 📌 a comprehensive, fully regional approach to security, that considers the interests of both NATO members and partners. 📌 developing a joint defense procurement and production framework. 📌 pushing for the strengthening of EU’s defense capabilities jointly with Türkiye and in a way that complements NATO’s military capabilities. 📌 revising the region’s multilateral and minilateral formats to limit Russia’s influence and avoid future blockages. 📌 intensifying efforts to increase connectivity and mobility throughout the region. 📌 attracting US economic interests to ensure long-standing American defense commitments to the region. Read the full paper here 👉🏼 https://lnkd.in/dJgsaJBs Sofia Security Forum NATO Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Oana Popescu-Zamfir #GlobalFocusCenter #BlackSea #Security #NATO #RegionalCooperation

Latest polling among 31 allies (🇸🇪 not a member at the time) from NATO shows: 🔹 Significant agreement (77%) that defence spending should be maintained or increased. 🔹 Familiarity with NATO remains high — 80% feel like know NATO at least a little, and 47% feel they know NATO very well or a fair amount. 🔹 A high majority (75%) consider NATO important to the future of their country. 🔹 A majority of Allied respondents (63%) agree with their country continuing to provide support to Ukraine.

🌟 We asked 30,000 citizens how they feel about security, defence and NATO. 📊 Our Annual Tracking Research was released this week together with #NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s #SGAnnualReport. ❔We have asked about Allied citizens’ perceptions on defence and security for several years now. These latest findings show: 🔹 Significant agreement (77%) that defence spending should be maintained or increased. 🔹 Familiarity with NATO remains high — 80% feel like know NATO at least a little, and 47% feel they know NATO very well or a fair amount. 🔹 A high majority (75%) consider NATO important to the future of their country. 🔹 A majority of Allied respondents (63%) agree with their country continuing to provide support to Ukraine. 🗣️ Insights like these support and help steer our Public Diplomacy Division’s work to increase Allied citizens’ understanding of NATO and the Alliance’s core tasks. Highly recommend taking the time to check out the country-by-country breakdown & data tables with full details on the results👇 👏 My huge congratulations to our audience research team Amy L. & Beatriz Molina Sanchez for their dedication and for leading the way to bring this research to the public domain. And to Chris Riley for integrating this key piece of the understand function in our continuum to understand the information environment. ℹ️ See the report below & our website for more on NATO’s public opinion research: https://lnkd.in/ghN8JSNq

#REUNIRBlog 📚 "The EU’s security commitments to negotiate Ukraine’s accession" 📌 The EU's next eastward enlargement is more security-driven than ever before. Negotiating accession with a country at war, like Ukraine, requires more than just diplomacy. The EU must strengthen its military commitments to be credible. While past enlargements were preceded by NATO membership, Ukraine faces a different reality. 📌 The EU has pledged significant support to Ukraine, including arms deliveries, military training, and defence cooperation. However, the current framework needs to be more conflict-sensitive and backed by stronger security guarantees. The future of EU integration lies at the intersection of defence and enlargement. ➡ To read more about the importance of strong security commitments in the EU's enlargement strategy, check out the full blog by ✍ Steven Blockmans here: https://lnkd.in/dC9YB2-A #EU #Security #Ukraine #Enlargement #Defence CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS)

The prognosis of a war in Europe gets gloomy by the day. However close or far from the truth this may be, a serious concern, followed by action, for defense of Europe and especially the Black Sea region is long due. Not an easy task in a region of not very wealthy countries, which do not share a history of efficient cooperation. Yet common threats and common goals may be a good catalyst for security cooperation in the region. Marius Ghincea and the humble writer of this post identified 6 ways to enhance this cooperation. #blacksea #security

Both Finland and NATO benefit from regional defence cooperation formats within the alliance, says the latest FIIA report authored by Senior Research Fellow Iro Särkkä, Research Fellow Minna Ålander, Research Fellow Joel Linnainmäki and Visiting Research Fellow Antti Pihlajamaa. 📝 🔎 The report looks into how Estonia, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK view defence cooperation with Finland and how Finland's interests align with theirs. It also identifies concrete areas in which cooperation could be deepened. An important underlying factor for deepening cooperation is the countries’ shared perception of Russia as the main threat to European security. Despite notable differences in how these countries view their operating environments they all have a stake in Northern Europe and the Arctic region. 💬 Regional defence cooperation within NATO does not make the alliance fractured but rather strengthens it. Bi-, tri- and minilateral defence cooperation can enhance intra-alliance policymaking and serve as a tool to build trust with key partners and allies, the authors conclude. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dYgqBxFS #NATO #defence #defencecooperation #Finland #NorthernEurope

Our new report on Finland's defence partnerships as a NATO ally is hot off the press! A year's work concluded. We answer why Finland should invest into partnerships even though we are now in NATO, how Sweden, Norway, the UK, Estonia, Germany and France view Finland, what type of cooperation is seen as beneficial for both sides and what type of restrictions exist for cooperation. The study is based on 76 (!) expert interviews we conducted in the case study countries. Our research finds that bilateral, trilateral and minilateral defence cooperation can support alliance decision-making by building trust among key allies. Cooperation can also support the implementation of regional defence plans and capability targets, as well as cover for capability deficits by providing joint solutions. Minilateral cooperation, such as between Nordic or Baltic states in NORDEFCO and JEF, is especially important for smaller countries with limited capabilities and resources. Our study confirms that Finland is seen as a valued partner with a lot to offer. Cooperation is underwritten by the long-term and durable threat posed by Russia to all NATO allies. At the same time, Finland is competing with its neighbors for attention and will need to "sell" its case to partners who are already active in countries such as Norway and Estonia. The stronger the case Finland presents to its partners and allies, the better. Please give the report a read and let me know what you think!

Whither the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE)? For those of us who follow the organization and lament over the current atmosphere in discussions in Vienna - see, for example, dueling agenda items for meetings "Russian aggression against Ukraine" and "Special Military Operation to de-nazify and de-militarize Ukraine" - this is a key question whose answer will affect the future of European security. Walter Kemp offers some timely food for thought in his recent article in Security and Human Rights Monitor, "Crisis and Opportunity in the OSCE." https://lnkd.in/ez2vJae8

Canada’s defence spending has long been below the NATO target of 2% of GDP, reflecting a belief that our ties with the US provide sufficient security. However, this assumption could be challenged by any US leader who decides to use Canada’s reliance on the US market as a lever. Economic damage from such a scenario would far outweigh the $18 billion gap in our annual defence contribution to NATO. This is the harsh reality that Philippe Lagassé eloquently explains in his article. However, I disagree with his final remark. This is not about what “Trump…thinks we owe”. This is about honouring our own commitment to the NATO Alliance, which we have repeatedly endorsed. This is about living up to the values of maturity, self-governance, accountability and integrity that we expect from ourselves and our allies. We should not wait for a coercive threat to spur us into action. #democracy #nationalsecurity

NATO’s door remains open to any #European #country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Since 1949, NATO’s #membership has #increased from 12 to 32 #countries through 10 rounds of #enlargement. #Sweden became the latest country to join the Alliance on 7 March 2024. Currently, three partner #countries have declared their #aspirations to NATO #membership: #Bosnia and Herzegovina, #Georgia and #Ukraine.