Monika Sus analyses the EU's Strategic Compass

In a blog post for UK in a Changing Europe, a think tank based at King's College London, Monika Sus, fellow at the Centre for International Security, argues that the implementation of the Strategic Compass has the potential to increase the EU's geopolitical weight in several ways.

First, the EU will develop a rapid deployment capacity of 5,000 dispatch-ready troops. Second, the EU will enhance its military mobility by developing a dual-use transport infrastructure able to handle large-scale movements of personnel, material and equipment. Third, the defense industries of EU member states will be strengthened and better integrated. Fourth, the EU will be better prepared for, and able to respond to, cyberattacks.

However, Sus cautions that despite these promising improvements, the Strategic Compass is not able to address the differences in threat perception and crisis response between the 27 member states. The plan also relies on strengthening ties with NATO, thereby underscoring of the boundaries of European strategic autonomy. 

Sus concludes that the Strategic Compass can provide Europe with a manual for the 'language of power' and notes that, "[the] restrictions serve as a reality check, and a reminder of what can really be expected from the implementation of the latest EU strategy document."

Read the full post (in English) here.