EU's new defense portfolio aims to complement NATO, analyst says

By Melike Pala

ISTANBUL (AA) - The decision of Ursula von der Leyen, who was re-elected President of the European Commission (EU), to appoint a “commissioner for defense and space” will not create a rift with NATO, according to an analyst.

Jens Stoltenberg, who handed over the post of NATO secretary general to former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Oct. 1, warned the EU not to enter areas that are within NATO's mandate or compete with it, in a statement following the decision to appoint an EU Commissioner responsible for defense.

One of the most striking reforms announced by von der Leyen, who will head the EU Commission for the next five years, was the announcement of former Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius as the first “commissioner for defense and space.”

Juraj Majcin, an analyst at the European Policy Center, told Anadolu that the job description of the newly created EU commissioner for defense does not allow for creating an alternative to NATO or a dichotomy.

Majcin pointed out that looking at the commissioner’s portfolio, it is clear that they do not have the job description of any defense minister: “It should be called Defense Industry Commissioner, because if you look at the commissioner’s mandate, clearly it's not what we would find in the portfolio of a defense minister in nation states.”

Majcin explained that this is firstly because the person concerned is responsible for the defense industry, and secondly because the agreements do not allow such a situation.

“NATO should be the primary defense organization for Europe. But what the EU can do, and what it tries to do, is to complement NATO's gaps,” Majcin said.

He added that the decision was only about increasing Europe’s defense industry production and strengthening cooperation between member states, explaining that, “As you know, the EU doesn't have any military, so it can't really comment or make decisions on specific armed forces. But what it can do is to look at how we can better work together to ramp up our defense industrial production, how we can jointly procure different weapon systems, and how we can help the defense industry to increase their production and capacity to produce in terms of crisis.”

- ‘More coordination betweenEU and NATO’

Majcin noted that the EU already has military missions such as “Aspides” in the Red Sea, stating that these have so far not led to any conflict with NATO, and that the appointment of a commissioner would not cause problems as long as coordination is ensured.

“I think there needs to be greater coordination between the two institutions to avoid potential conflicts,” Majcin said.

He expressed confidence that the EU's increase in defense production will not affect NATO's goal of “allocating at least 2% of its gross domestic product to defense spending,” stating that the countries of the union will continue to invest in their own armies.

However, Majcin acknowledged that disagreements between the EU and NATO are not new. “Every time the EU came up with a project on defense, there was always resistance. You know, everyone was cautious about the EU stepping into NATO's field. Because, of course, since its inception right after the end of the Second World War, NATO played a primary role in the defense of Europe, while the EU focused more on economic cooperation, political cooperation, and agriculture, but has never had a role in defense.”

- ‘Not a step toward an EU army’

Majcin further clarified that this decision was not the first step toward the “idea of an EU army” voiced by some member states' officials. “I think that people, if they join an army, are prepared to die for their own country. They are not ready to die for the EU flag,” he said.

He emphasized that NATO guarantees the sovereignty of countries while allowing collective action in this context, indicating that he does not think this situation will change in the near future and that an EU army will not be established.

“Defense is always a sensitive issue in the context of the sovereignty of countries,” Majcin stated. “Those who defend sovereignty would always say that the military should remain under control of nation states, and they're very suspicious of anything supranational.”

- 'EU must be more inclusive'

Majcin argued that the EU is inclined to cooperate in defense funds and programs only with members of the Union, adding, “When the European Union launches instruments such as European defense funds, it has to come to Europe in a broader sense. And it has to open the door to, on the one hand, the UK, but also Turkey. But the problem is that the EU doesn't want to work with either because they don't want to extend any concessions. They are very cautious about extending some instruments to the UK, because they will think that ‘Oh, so we would also need to do it with Turkey too,’ which is a candidate country, and the UK is a country that has left the EU by its own will. So, there’s also a political dimension in this struggle.”

*Writing by Efe Ozkan