Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Intergovernmentalists argue that cooperation between member states is less deeply
rooted and occurs on the basis of governments
rationalised calculations of self-
interest. Realist writers interpret the euro crisis as the manifestation of broader
underlying global political dynamics: in the multipolar word there is no single,
overwhelmingly threatening power against which the EU needs
'
,
removing the main driving force for integration and gradually weakening the glue
binding member states together in the most general strategic sense.
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Paradoxically, the Lisbon Treaty seems to have produced a shift in the centre of
gravity of foreign policy-making back to national capitals and hence more defen-
sive reneging on unity commitments. Critics associate this with a move away from
proactive internationalism. The External Action Service (EAS), the new diplomatic
body set up under the rubric of the Lisbon Treaty, has focused mainly on classical
diplomacy more than inter-issue linkages. Member states now tend to formulate
national positions without coordinating with their partners. Germany, France and
the UK perceive themselves to have greater room of national manoeuvre in a
world of middle powers and shifting alliances around the world.
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to
'
balance
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Security and defence: limitations
In debates about the EU
s international identity and presence, the place of security
and defence policy has long been viewed critically. A repeatedly expressed concern
is that European military capabilities have not been harnessed to coherent security
strategies and visions. The EU ritually insists that its strategic comparative advantage
lies in its ability to manage an increasingly widened concept of security. In reality
in most cases the EU has struggled to dovetail the panoply of its soft and hard
power instruments within a comprehensive approach to geo-strategy. Experts
argue that European security policy has not been good at linking its generic set of
strategic principles to an appreciation of where concrete features of geographical
change, in speci
'
c places, impact upon supply imperatives.
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The EU is good at
focusing on the generic way it prefers to do international relations, but has failed to
develop
in the more concrete sense of where and how its power
resources are to be deployed with security interests in mind.
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In the midst of the de
'
grand strategy
'
cit-reducing
'
age of austerity
'
European governments
have found it di
cult to make the case to their populations and parliaments for
hefty defence budgets aimed at long-term threats. The precarious state of the
euro and the whole internal agenda of European integration have made external
defence and security commitments seem less pressing. European defence budgets
have been dramatically reduced. The overall EU defence spend decreased by just
over 10 per cent from 2008 to 2012, and reductions of a further 25 per cent are
in the pipeline up to 2020.
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