The Future of EU Defence Cooperation from a French Perspective

Abstract

The French military intervention in Mali (dubbed Operation Serval [Wildcat]) triggered, at the outset, hesitant if not ill-disposed reactions in most European capitals even if, later, in a very formal manner the EU did support the French operation. The lack of actual commitment from France’s European partners beyond verbal support left, rightly or wrongly, a feeling of resentment in France which, in response, has “liberated” the French in regard to the complex and delicate issue of EU defence cooperation. The intervention revealed gloomy realities about the current situation of EU defence cooperation and its likely prospects. For the French tangible security issues are, so far, no longer specifically positioned in the eastern part of Europe, they are also located in a volatile and unpredictable area spreading from Dakar to Karachi. The difference of perception between Paris and many European capitals raises the question of the significance of European defence as a positive and encouraging project when such a divide now exists between member states.