| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article seeks to return to the question of an EU military capability
and assesses the organisations capacity for military action through an
analysis of the work ongoing in the European Defence Agency and the
prospects for practically utilising Permanent Structured Cooperation. It
highlights that the introduction of Permanent Structured Cooperation
can be seen as an opportunity for the EU Member States to ?nally
begin to address their capability gaps. Whether signi?cant change actually materialises will depend upon how such a mechanism is implemented in practice. Several factors pose major challenges: lack of
suf?cient political will to practically employ the Battlegroups, static or
declining defence budgets, unwillingness among the Member States to
pool capabilities and the lack of a fully ?edged European strategic culture. By applying the concept of strategic culture this article seeks to
analyse these complex dynamics and uncover the possibilities for bringing a new impetus behind defence cooperation within the Common
and Security Defence Policy.
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