Globally: why is the European Union expanding the geography of its military operations

In the European Union, the European Peace Facility (EPF) has been created, through which military operations abroad are to be financed.

This was reported on the website of the EU Council.

For these purposes, in 2021-2027, the EU plans to allocate € 5 billion from the regular contributions of the member states of the political association.

“This fund will enable the EU to complement its Common Security and Defense Policy missions and operations for the first time with support in host countries.

These measures include the supply of military and defense equipment, the creation of infrastructure and the provision of support at the request of third countries or regional and international organizations, ”the EU Council said in a statement.

Brussels believes that the activities of the European Peace Fund should increase the EU's ability to prevent armed conflicts, maintain peace, and strengthen international stability and security.

“Lasting peace can only be achieved by investing in international stability and security.

The EU is determined and currently has the necessary financial instruments.

The European Peace Fund will allow us to provide our partner countries with tangible support in overcoming common security problems, ”said the President of the EU Council, Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva.

"Noble goals"

As the EU Council specified, the EPF will replace the ATHENA mechanism for financing military operations of the European Union, which has been in force since 2004.

With the launch of the new fund, the volume of spending on military operations will increase and the geography of their conduct will expand.

“The European Peace Fund will operate on a global geographic scale.

Currently, the member states of the European Union are discussing priority regions in accordance with the existing EU strategies, as well as based on the needs of partners and the security problems they face, ”the EU Council reads.

• Fighter of the multinational battalion EUFOR

• © EU EUFOR

As part of the new mechanism, Brussels plans to supply foreign partners with weapons, the use of which does not contradict European and international laws.

In addition, the EU will provide assistance in building defense infrastructure and training the military.

In return, the beneficiary undertakes to comply with international law and comply with the requirements of the EU Council.

Also, the beneficiary must agree with this body on the monitoring of the conflict zone.

If the recipient violates the terms of assistance, Brussels may suspend or terminate the support provided to him.

As stated in the EU Council newsletter, the creation of the EPF means that Brussels is taking on more responsibility for global security.

It should be noted that one of the priority issues in the field of security in the EU is considered the neutralization of threats to shipping off the coast of West Africa.

First of all, we are talking about the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which should complement regular naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea and in the western Indian Ocean.

According to statistics from the International Maritime Bureau, in 2020, 195 cases of piracy and armed robbery of ships were registered in the world, in 2019 - 162 such incidents.

The EU views the safety of maritime navigation as a factor in maintaining the status of the second largest exporter of goods and the third largest importer in the world.

As indicated in Brussels, many trade and economic partners allegedly call on the European Union to play a more prominent role in the protection of maritime communications.

In an interview with RT, Tatyana Romanova, associate professor of the Department of European Studies at St. Petersburg State University, noted that, in addition to the economic rationale, the launch of the EPF should be perceived as an attempt by the EU to establish the practice of conducting remote operations.

According to her, Brussels lacks the resources to project power far from its borders.

• Military personnel of EUFOR

• © EU EUFOR

“The EU is experiencing big problems with distant military operations and military peacekeeping.

Here we can say that, in general, the EU is more successful in civil peacekeeping, in restoring normal life in the region after the end of the conflict than during the hostilities, ”explained Romanova.

Nikolai Mezhevich, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, looks differently at the background behind the creation of the EPF and the expansion of the geography of military operations announced by the EU Council.

In a commentary on RT, the expert said that he did not believe in the "noble goals" proclaimed by Brussels.

“If we talk about EU peacekeeping, we saw missions in Africa and the Balkans.

They can hardly be called successful, since the Europeans did not provide real protection and assistance to the civilian population.

There is an old rule - if they talk to you a lot about the world, then blood will be shed somewhere.

Today I do not believe in the noble goals declared by Brussels, ”Mezhevich stressed.

Conceptual contradictions

In a conversation with RT, Vladimir Vinokurov, professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the emergence of a new mechanism for financing EU military operations and expanding the geography of their conduct is part of Brussels' strategic course to distance itself from NATO and the United States in the field of defense and foreign policy.

“The European Union seeks to establish itself as an independent actor in world politics.

This is quite natural.

It is another matter that the EU, as in the case of ATHENA and the European Peace Fund, indulges in hypocrisy.

In practice, both mechanisms have a very weak relation to peacekeeping, this is primarily the financing of military operations abroad, an attempt to dissociate itself from the "tutelage" of NATO and the United States, "Vinokurov says.

Perhaps the main critic of the North Atlantic Alliance among EU leaders is French President Emmanuel Macron.

From his point of view, Europe should adopt its own unified defense strategy, and not “delegate defense” to the United States.

Macron does not advocate the dissolution of the North Atlantic alliance, but believes that the military bloc should exist on a different conceptual basis.

“I defend European sovereignty, strategic autonomy, not because I am against NATO or I doubt our American friends, but because I understand the state of the world,” Macron explained in mid-February 2021.

The EU bureaucracy is also inclined to the need to build up "capacity for autonomous action", albeit within the framework of "strengthening the transatlantic partnership."

“By following its own strategic course and building the capacity for autonomous action, a stronger European Union can actively contribute to strengthening the transatlantic partnership and fulfilling the tasks set within this format,” reads the EU Council Statement on EU-US Relations, adopted in December 2020. ...

In turn, NATO has repeatedly made it clear that it does not support the EU's independence in the field of defense issues.

According to the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg, Europe, as before, should rely on the military resources of Washington.

“The US security guarantee, nuclear deterrence and the presence of American troops in Europe are absolutely essential for the defense of Europe.

Any attempt to weaken the bond between North America and Europe will weaken NATO as well as split Europe, ”Stoltenberg said in November 2020 in an interview with Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.

• Soldiers under the auspices of the EU

• © EU EUFOR

According to Vinokurov, in recent years, contradictions have clearly emerged in Europe regarding the role of the United States in ensuring the security of the EU.

According to the expert, opponents of the total subordination of the EU to American interests are concentrated around the ideas of "European sovereignty" and the strengthening of Brussels' influence on global processes.

Nikolai Mezhevich adheres to a similar view of the situation.

According to him, there is a growing understanding in the EU that Europe cannot always rely on the United States.

“In a number of cases, the interests of the European Union and NATO do not completely coincide.

To be able to implement an autonomous policy, Brussels needs tools, including the military.

I think that this is what caused the creation of the European Peace Fund and the announced expansion of the geography of military operations, ”concluded Mezhevich.