CESI´s 3^rd European Defence Round Table (EDRT)*

A European Strategic Compass for security and defence
What future for the EU defence policy after the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan? 

September 17 2021 | 2.30 – 4.30 PM | Online via Zoom | In English & German languages

The High Representative and Commission Vice-President Josep Borell will present the first ‘Strategic Compass’ for the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in November 2021. This Compass shall assess the main threats and challenges for the EU – and define objectives, goals and tools to respond to them.

The recent events in Afghanistan are changing the world in a fundamental way. In anticipation of the Strategic Compass, questions arise: How will the European defence policy be influenced by the developments in Afghanistan since August? Has the EU to act for more strategic autonomy? Will this crisis affect the dynamics of the Common Security and Defence Policy in a new global context?

Whatever the answers are: to be successful, the EU needs to be more inclusive and transparent in the field of defence. CESI’s expert commission ‘Defence’, also representing the interests of military and civilian personnel unions across Europe, has been advocating for involving military personnel in designing and implementing the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) through the ‘European Defence Round Table’.

In defining the EU´s level of ambition in security and defence policies, the EU and the member states must involve key stakeholders, including the military personnel, in their reflections and negotiations – to benefit from their expertise and not least from their support.

The participants shall share their views and insights regarding the following questions:

• What are the main lessons to be drawn from the situation in Afghanistan?
• What are currently the biggest challenges and obstacles in defining what kind of security and defence actor the EU wants to be?
• How can the CSDP become more transparent and accountable towards the European Parliament and EU citizens?
• How can EU’s defence policies be grounded in more participatory approaches, including the interests of groups such as trade unions of military and civilian personnel of the armed forces?
• Which concrete processes, cooperation mechanisms, industrial synergies and/or structures should be targeted?
• Do joint EU threat responses require more ‘integrated’ civilian and military armed forces?

With the participation of:

• Bernard Guetta, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe), Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Klaus Heeger, CESI Secretary General
• Eleni Lazarou, Head of the External Policies Unit, European Parliament Research Service
• Thomas Sohst, Member of the Board of CESI as representative of German Armed Forces Association (Deutscher BundeswehrVerband) and President of the CESI Expert Commission ‘Defence’
• Alison Weston, Head of the Partnerships and Task Force NATO Division, European External Action Service
• Karolina Zbytniewska, Chief Editor at EURACTIV Poland, moderator of the round table

*CESI’s European Defence Round Table (EDRT) aims at including more key players and stakeholders in the framing of the CSDP.