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Military of the European Union

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Military of the European Union
The coat of arms of the EU military staff
Service branchesEUMS
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief28 EU heads of state
High RepresentativeCatherine Ashton
Director General of EUMSLt.Gen. Ton van Osch[1]
Personnel
Military age17–45
Active personnel1,695,122
Reserve personnel2,852,500
798,700 paramilitary
Expenditure
Budget€200 billion (2012)
Percent of GDP2% (2012)

The military of the European Union comprises the several national armed forces of the Union's 28 member states, as the policy area of defence has remained primarily the domain of nation states. European integration has however been deepened in this field in recent years, with the framing of a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) branch for the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) as well as the creation of separate international forces revolving around the EU's defence. A number of CSDP military operations have been deployed in recent years. The principal military alliance in Europe remains NATO, which includes 21 of all EU member states as well as other non-EU European countries, Turkey, the United States and Canada.

Several prominent leaders, including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, have voiced support for a common defence for the Union.[2][3][4] This possibility, requiring unanimous support among the member states, was formally laid down in Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009.[5]

Additionally, the Treaty of Lisbon extended the enhanced co-operation provision to become available for application in the area of defence. This mechanism enables a minimum number of member states to deepen integration within the EUs institutional framework, without the necessity of participation for reluctant member states.

History

Following the end of World War II and the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Dunkirk Treaty was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 4 March 1947 as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance against a possible German attack in the aftermath of World War II. The Dunkirk Treaty entered into force on 8 September 1947. The 1948 Treaty of Brussels established the military Western Union Defence Organisation with an allied European command structure under Field Marshal Montgomery. Western European powers, except for Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Austria, signed the North Atlantic Treaty alongside the United States and Canada which only created a passive defence association until 1951 when, during the Korean War, the existing and fully functioning Western Union Defence Organisation was augmented to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO.

Map showing European membership of the EU and NATO
  EU member only
  NATO member only
  member of both

In the early 1950s, France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries made an attempt to integrate the militaries of mainland western Europe, through the treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC). This scheme did however not enter into force, as it failed to obtain approval for ratification in the French National Assembly, where Gaullists feared for national sovereignty and Communists opposed a European military consolidation that could rival the Soviet Union.

The failure to establish the EDC resulted in the 1954 amendment of the Treaty of Brussels at the London and Paris Conferences which in replacement of EDC established the political Western European Union (WEU) out of the earlier established military Western Union Defence Organisation and included West Germany and Italy in both WEU and NATO as the conference ended the occupation of West Germany and the defence aims had shifted from Germany to the Soviet Union.

Out of the 28 EU member states, 21 are also members of NATO. Another 3 NATO members are EU Applicants and 1 is solely a member of the European Economic Area. In 1996, the Western European Union (WEU) was tasked by NATO to implement a European Security and Defence Identity within NATO, which later was passed over to the EU Common Security and Defence Policy as all Western European Union functions were transferred to the European Union through the Lisbon Treaty. The memberships of the EU and NATO are distinct, and some EU member states are traditionally neutral on defence issues. Several of the new EU member states were formerly members of the Warsaw Pact.

The EU currently has a limited mandate over defence issues, with a role to explore the issue of European defence agreed to in the Amsterdam Treaty, as well as oversight of the Helsinki Headline Goal Force Catalogue (the 'European Rapid Reaction Force') processes. However, some EU states may and do make multilateral agreements about defence issues outside of the EU structures.

On 20 February 2009 the European Parliament voted in favour of the creation of Synchronised Armed Forces Europe (SAFE) as a first step towards a true European military force. SAFE will be directed by an EU directorate, with its own training standards and operational doctrine. There are also plans to create an EU "Council of Defence Ministers" and "a European statute for soldiers within the framework of Safe governing training standards, operational doctrine and freedom of operational action".[6]

Implications of the Treaty of Lisbon

The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon triggered member states of the Western European Union (WEU) to scrap the organisation, which had largely become dormant, but they have kept the mutual defence clause of the Treaty of Brussels as the basis for the EU mutual defence arrangement.

The Treaty of Lisbon also states that:

The common security and defence policy shall include the progressive framing of the common defence policy. This will lead to a common defence, when the European Council, acting unanimously, so decides. (TEU, Article 42)[7]

Military expenditure

The United Kingdom and France

France (blue) and the United Kingdom (red).

The United Kingdom and France represent the EU's two most dominant global military powers and are the only nuclear powers in the EU. Together, the United Kingdom and France account for 40% of Europe's defence budget, 50% of its military capacity and 70% of all spending in military research and development.[8] The 2010 Anglo French defence treaty will "pool resources" of these two nations' armed forces to maintain their status as major "global defence powers". France and the United Kingdom will also work jointly with nuclear weapons, "testing will be carried out in France and the technology will be developed in the UK."[9]

British and French military expenditure for 2010 published in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2011 using current (2010) market exchange rates in US$.[10]

Rank Country Spending ($ Bn.) % of GDP World Share (%)
1 United Kingdom United Kingdom 59.6 2.7% 3.7%
2 France France 59.3 2.3% 3.6%

European military expenditure

The following list presents the military expenditure of the European Union in euros (€) for the year 2010. The combined military expenditure of the EU member states prior to Croatia's membership in 2013 is €194 billion.[11] This represents 1.6% of European Union GDP, second only to the €392 ($533.8) billion military expenditure of the United States. The US figure represents 4.8% of United States GDP.[12] The EU figures include the spending for joint projects such as the Eurofighter and joint procurement of equipment.

Hypothetically combined EU military expenditure compared to the United States
and the five largest European defence spenders.
Country Spending (€) % of GDP
European Union European Union €195,025,000,000 1.61%
1 United Kingdom United Kingdom €43,340,000,000 2.56%
2 France France €39,237,000,000 2.01%
3 Germany Germany €33,492,000,000 1.34%
4 Italy Italy €21,637,000,000 1.40%
5 Spain Spain €15,132,000,000 1.05%
6 Poland Poland €8,631,995,060 1.95%
7 Netherlands Netherlands €8,472,000,000 1.43%
8 Greece Greece €7,890,560,000 2.32%
9 Sweden Sweden €4,265,000,000 1.23%
10 Belgium Belgium €3,951,000,000 1.12%
11 Denmark Denmark €3,493,000,000 1.32%
12 Portugal Portugal €2,782,000,000 1.61%
13 Finland Finland €2,707,000,000 1.50%
14 Austria Austria €2,430,000,000 0.86%
15 Czech Republic Czech Republic €2,016,000,000 1.39%
16 Romania Romania €1,575,000,000 1.29%
17 Hungary Hungary €1,022,000,000 1.04%
18 Republic of Ireland Ireland €911,000,000 0.59%
19 Slovakia Slovakia €853,000,000 1.29%
20 Croatia Croatia €668,000,000 1.41%
21 Bulgaria Bulgaria €629,000,000 1.74%
22 Slovenia Slovenia €583,000,000 1.62%
23 Cyprus Cyprus €361,000,000 2.06%
24 Estonia Estonia €249,000,000 1.72%
25 Lithuania Lithuania €246,000,000 0.90%
26 Luxembourg Luxembourg €201,000,000 0.48%
27 Latvia Latvia €194,000,000 1.08%
28 Malta Malta €44,000,000 0.71%

In a speech in 2012, Swedish General Håkan Syrén criticised the spending levels of European Union countries, saying that in the future those countries' military capability will decrease, creating "critical shortfalls".[13]

Militaries of Member States

European military personnel

The European Union's combined active military forces in 2009 totalled 1,668,537 personnel. As of 2009, The 26 European Defence Agency member states had an average of 67,767 land force personnel deployed around the world (4% of the total military personnel). In a major operation the EU could readily deploy 443,103 land force personnel and of those can sustain 106,754 in an enduring operation.[14] In comparison, the US deployed on average almost 200,000 troops. This represents 14% of US military personnel.[12] Denmark is not an EDA member, but is a member state of the European Union, thus bringing the total manpower of the combined EU military to 1,695,122 personnel.

Figures for the EU's reserve personnel and paramilitary forces are provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (a British research institute). Figures are provided for the year 2010.

A chart showing the combined strength
of the EU's active duty personnel compared
to other military powers. EU figures sourced
from the EDA. (Note: 100 = 1 million)
Country Active personnel Reserve personnel Paramilitary personnel Total personnel
European Union European
Union
1,695,122 2,852,500 798,700 5,346,322
France France[14][15][16][17] 243,000 70,300 151,779 465,079
United Kingdom United Kingdom[18][19] 227,160 174,800 401,960
Italy Italy[14][20] 192,168 41,867 244,273 478,308
Germany Germany[21][22] 188,921 140,000 328,921
Spain Spain[14][23] 136,000 319,000 80,210 535,210
Greece Greece[14][24][25][26] 177,600 280,000 4,000 461,600
Poland Poland[14][27] 120,000 250,000 30,000 400,000
Romania Romania[14][28][29] 74,790 45,000 79,900 199,690
Netherlands Netherlands[14][30] 48,639 3,339 3,000 54,978
Portugal Portugal[14][31] 39,568 210,900 47,700 298,168
Belgium Belgium[14][32] 35,720 2,040 37,760
Finland Finland[14][33] 35,328 351,500 7,550 394,378
Bulgaria Bulgaria[14][34] 32,445 302,500 34,000 368,945
Austria Austria[14][35] 28,065 195,000 9,400 232,465
Czech Republic Czech Republic[14][36] 24,418 10,998 35,416
Denmark Denmark[37] 26,585 53,507 80,092
Hungary Hungary[14][38] 44,000 64,000 12,000 120,000
Sweden Sweden[14][39] 16,958 242,000 800 259,758
Slovakia Slovakia[14][40] 14,413 14,413
Cyprus Cyprus[14][41] 12,937 50,000 750 63,687
Republic of Ireland Ireland[14][42] 9,950 14,500 24,450
Lithuania Lithuania[14][43] 8,108 6,700 14,600 29,408
Slovenia Slovenia[14][44] 6,964 3,800 4,500 15,264
Latvia Latvia[14][45] 4,937 10,866 10,096 25,899
Estonia Estonia[14][46] 6,600 42,000 10,766 59,300
Malta Malta[14] 2,120 2,120
Luxembourg Luxembourg[14][47] 882 612 1,494
The EU's fighter and strike aircraft fleet
compared to other military powers.[48]

European Air Forces

The Air Forces of Europe operate a wide range of military systems and hardware. This is primarily due to the independent requirements of each member state and also the national defence industries of some member states. However such programmes like the Eurofighter Typhoon and Eurocopter Tiger have seen many European nations design, build and operate a single weapons platform. 60% of overall combat fleet was developed and manufactured by member states, 32% are US-origin, but some of these were assembled in Europe, while remaining 8% are soviet-made aircraft. In 2013 it is estimated that the European Union had around 2,000 serviceable main combat aircraft (fighter aircraft and ground-attack aircraft).[48] Currently within the EU operates:


The EUs air-lift capabilities are evolving with the future introduction of the Airbus A400M (another example of EU defence cooperation). The A400M is a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities.[49] Around 140 are initially expected to be operated by 5 member states (UK, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium).

Combat aircraft

2013[48] Eurofighter
Typhoon
Panavia
Tornado
Mirage 2000 Mirage F1 Saab
Gripen
F-16 F/A-18 MiG-29 MiG-21 Other Total
European Union EU 340 313 203 35 162 393 128 59 44 366 2043
France France 159 13 91 Dassault Rafale,
25 Super Étendard
288
Greece Greece 44 157 50 F-4, 32 A-7 283
Germany Germany 100[50] 134 234
United Kingdom United Kingdom 100[51] 104 2 F-35 206
Italy Italy 85 75 62 AMX, 16 Harrier 215
Spain Spain 40 22 74 16 Harrier 143
Sweden Sweden 134 134
Poland Poland 48 32 38 Su-22 118
Netherlands Netherlands 74 74
Finland Finland 54 54
Belgium Belgium 49 49
Romania Romania 36 36
Denmark Denmark 36 36
Czech Republic Czech Republic 14 19 L-159 33
Portugal Portugal 29 29
Bulgaria Bulgaria 15 14 Su-25 29
Austria Austria 15 15
Hungary Hungary 14 14
Slovakia Slovakia 12 12
Croatia Croatia 8 8
Lithuania Lithuania 1 L-39 1

Transport, tanker and air-lift aircraft

A330/
A340
A310 KC-135/
707
C-17 C-130 C-160 C-27J CN-235/
C-295
An-26 L-410 Other Total
 European Union 12 910 917 911 9139 99 31 81 13 17 982 512
France France 3 3 14 14 39 24 97
Germany Germany 2 5 60 022 A319 69
United Kingdom United Kingdom 6 8 32 11 VC10/TriStar, 4 BAe 146 61
Spain Spain 2 3 12 22 19 C-212 58
Poland Poland 5 14 27 M28 46
Italy Italy 20 12 074 KC-767, 3 A319 39
Greece Greece 15 8 23
Portugal Portugal 6 12 18
Romania Romania 5 5 4 14
Belgium Belgium 1 11 12
Czech Republic Czech Republic 4 6 022 A319 12
Sweden Sweden 8 033 Saab 340 11
Hungary Hungary (3) 5 8
Bulgaria Bulgaria 3 2 2 011 A319 8
Netherlands Netherlands 4 033 (K)DC-10 7
Slovakia Slovakia 2 5 7
Lithuania Lithuania 3 2 5
Denmark Denmark 4 4
Finland Finland 3 011 F27 4
Austria Austria 3 3
Croatia Croatia 022 An-32B 2
Republic of Ireland Ireland 2 2
Latvia Latvia 1 1
Slovenia Slovenia 1 1

European Land Forces

2012[52] MBT AFV SPG Towed
artillery
MLRS Mortars AT Weapons Attack
helicopters
European Union EU 6021 37,137 2695 5930 1463 21,431 55,546 327
Austria Austria 162 735 80 0 0 250 100 0
Belgium Belgium 0 302 0 14 0 350 350 0
Bulgaria Bulgaria 80 1397 206 350 248 0
Croatia Croatia 80 128 9 114 60 183 3683 0
Cyprus Cyprus 184 519 28 84 18 11
Czech Republic Czech Republic 123 586 89 0 0 93 24
Denmark Denmark 57 734 0 12 0 90 1274 0
Estonia Estonia 0 139 104 129 0
Finland Finland 165 1323 90 486 58 2058 2350 0
France France 254 6728 251 105 41 1550 14,760 34
Germany Germany 408 1794 185 1500 250 2200 12,000 21
Greece Greece 1244 2633 587 729 152 4065 5984 29
Hungary Hungary 32 1000 0 30 65 250 0
Republic of Ireland Ireland 0 94 0
Italy Italy 200 4725 262 162 22 3280 1400 56
Latvia Latvia 0 0 0
Lithuania Lithuania 0 240 0 64 0 142 0
Netherlands Netherlands 0 393 18 0 0 29
Poland Poland 991 2788 647 257 293 1675 2200 29
Portugal Portugal 137 400 18 41 0 400 450 0
Romania Romania 1098 1535 0 1359 188 1117 1020 22
Slovakia Slovakia 17 147 16 0 26 0
Slovenia Slovenia 17 156 0 18 0 36 2375 0
Spain Spain 415 1604 96 143 0 400 1300 6
Sweden Sweden 120 1722 24 220 0 600 2300 0
United Kingdom United Kingdom 227 5315 89 138 42 2563 4000 66

European Naval Forces

Major warships (aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers,
frigates, submarines, amphibious warfare ships ) of
the EU compared to other military powers.

The European Union's combined naval force consists of over 600 commissioned warships, this number does not include auxiliary, survey or support ships. The European Union possesses 4 aircraft carriers, (the largest of which is the 40,000 ton Charles de Gaulle) and a large number of amphibious assault ships. This gives the EU significant power projection capabilities. The United Kingdom is currently building 2 (65,000 ton) Queen Elizabeth class carriers. Of the EU's 59 submarines, 21 are Nuclear submarines (11 UK and 10 French) while 38 are conventional attack submarines. Many European Navies do not classify destroyer sized vessels as destroyers, and instead classify them as frigates regardless of size and role. This would explain the relatively large difference between the number of destroyers and frigates in service. Of the 111 major surface combatants in service within European navies, 19 are classified as "Destroyers" and 92 as "Frigates" (these figures exclude 11 light frigates of the French Navy and 4 of the Italian Navy).

Operation Atalanta (formally European Union Naval Force Somalia) is the first ever (and still ongoing) naval operation of the European Union. It is part of a larger global action by the EU in the Horn of Africa to deal with the Somali crisis. As of January 2011 twenty-three EU nations participate in the operation.

Country Submarines Destroyers Frigates Corvettes Aircraft
carriers
Amphibious
warfare
ships
Guided
missile
boats
Mine
warfare
vessels
Patrol
&
Gunboats
European Union European Union 59 19 92a 62 4 36 66 160 170
United Kingdom United Kingdom[53] 11 6 13 13 15 24
France France[54] 10 11c 9 1 5 11 17
Germany Germany[55] 4 15 5 10 20
Italy Italy[56] 6 4 8d 8 2 3 12 14
Spain Spain[57] 4 5 6 5 1 2 4 6 19
Greece Greece[58].[59] 8 20 17 9 16
Poland Poland[60] 5 2 3 5 3 20
Romania Romania[61] 3 7 6 5 8
Netherlands Netherlands[62] 4 4 2 4 2 10 4
Portugal Portugal[63] 2 5 7 22
Belgium Belgium[64] 2 6 1
Finland Finland 8 19 2
Bulgaria Bulgaria 4 3 3 5
Denmark Denmark[65] 6 5 6
Sweden Sweden[66] 5 11 11 13
Republic of Ireland Ireland[67] 8
Croatia Croatia 6 5 3 4
Lithuania Lithuania[68] 4 4
Slovenia Slovenia[69] 2
Latvia Latvia 4 4
Estonia Estonia 1 3 2
Malta Malta[70] 8

Forces and frameworks

Common Security and Defence Policy

The defence arrangements which have been established under the EU institutions are part of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), a branch of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It should be noted that Denmark has an opt-out from the CSDP.

Deployments

In 2004, EU countries took over leadership of the mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina from NATO through the European Union Force (EUFOR). The mission was given the branding of an EU initiative as the EU sponsored the force to further the force's image of legitimacy. There have been other deployments such as in Gaza and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2007, the then European High Representative for Foreign Policy, Javier Solana indicated the EU could send troops to Georgia, perhaps alongside Russian forces.[71]

Separate initiatives

Separate initiatives by Member States that revolve around the defence of the European Union in some way or another, or acting as a European standing army.

See also

Notes

a ^ Includes Destroyer type vessels.
b ^ United Kingdom no longer operates fixed wing carrier capable aircraft.
c ^ Excludes five French light Frigates with a displacement of 3,200 tons or less.
d ^ Excludes four Italian light Frigates with a displacement of 2,500 tons or less.

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