EU defence without illusions

In their annual report on the EU's common security and defence policy, MEPs state that Russia's repeated actions have fundamentally disrupted the European security order. According to Parliament, the existing institutional and political mechanisms have failed, and the EU must therefore strengthen its own capacity to respond to crises and threats.

Cooperation with NATO, which MEPs describe as key to European security, should remain the basis for this. At the same time, however, they stress that Member States must be prepared to act independently if the situation so requires. They refer to Article 42(7) of the EU Treaty, i.e. the clause on mutual assistance between Member States.

The report also highlights the growing risks associated with foreign interference in Greenland. Parliament considers hybrid activities and open threats to its sovereignty, including those from the US, to be a serious threat to the EU's strategic interests and transatlantic stability. It therefore supports a unified EU position and stresses that only Denmark and Greenland itself can decide on the future of Greenland.

MEPs also warn of the growing unpredictability of US foreign policy and the possibility of a reduction in the US military presence in Europe. They believe that the EU should prepare for crisis scenarios, coordinate higher defence spending and systematically strengthen its own defence capabilities without undermining cooperation with the United States.