TY - JOUR
T1 - From EU Battlegroups to Rapid Deployment Capacity
T2 - learning the right lessons?
AU - Meyer, Christoph O
AU - Van Osch, Anton
AU - Reykers, Yf
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge that the article benefited from research insights gathered while researching and writing an In-Depth Analysis on the RDC for the European Parliament's Security and Defence Sub-committee (November 2022—PE 702.568). This commissioned research was published with the assistance of the Consultancy Ecorys. The authors are furthermore grateful to the interviewees and the anonymous reviewers for their time and for sharing their insights. The research time of Yf Reykers was funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with grant 406.XS.01.043 (SSH Open Competition XS).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/1/8
Y1 - 2024/1/8
N2 - 'We need to be able to act rapidly and robustly whenever a crisis erupts, with partners if possible and alone when necessary'.
1 The European Union's Strategic compass for security and defence (hereafter Strategic compass), adopted in March 2022, aims to improve the EU's rapid crisis-response capacity and create a Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC) of 5,000 troops to reach operational capacity by 2025 at the latest. This ambition, which was later approved by the EU ministers of foreign affairs and of defence, and endorsed by the European Council, illustrated the new momentum in European security and defence integration that was under way even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Yet, the underlying ambition is not new. In June 2004 the Council decided to create so-called EU battlegroups of 1,500 troops, deployable within five to ten days. These battlegroups have never been used since the achievement of full operational capacity in 2007, despite several opportunities to do so-a puzzle discussed in a rich literature.
2 Their non-use and the falling political commitment to fill the expected rota means that the instrument failed to serve its primary purpose as stated in EU official documents.
3 A creeping failure has become chronic. It cannot be compensated by secondary benefits such as enhancing EU and member states' capabilities or improving the interoperability of their armed forces.
4 The EU battlegroups have become emblematic of the capability/expectations gap in European security and defence more broadly.
5 Making a success of reformed battlegroups within the RDC concept therefore constitutes a litmus test for the success of the Strategic compass. A successful RDC would help the EU become a more credible and effective rapid crisis responder, able to act autonomously from other actors in a range of situations.
AB - 'We need to be able to act rapidly and robustly whenever a crisis erupts, with partners if possible and alone when necessary'.
1 The European Union's Strategic compass for security and defence (hereafter Strategic compass), adopted in March 2022, aims to improve the EU's rapid crisis-response capacity and create a Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC) of 5,000 troops to reach operational capacity by 2025 at the latest. This ambition, which was later approved by the EU ministers of foreign affairs and of defence, and endorsed by the European Council, illustrated the new momentum in European security and defence integration that was under way even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Yet, the underlying ambition is not new. In June 2004 the Council decided to create so-called EU battlegroups of 1,500 troops, deployable within five to ten days. These battlegroups have never been used since the achievement of full operational capacity in 2007, despite several opportunities to do so-a puzzle discussed in a rich literature.
2 Their non-use and the falling political commitment to fill the expected rota means that the instrument failed to serve its primary purpose as stated in EU official documents.
3 A creeping failure has become chronic. It cannot be compensated by secondary benefits such as enhancing EU and member states' capabilities or improving the interoperability of their armed forces.
4 The EU battlegroups have become emblematic of the capability/expectations gap in European security and defence more broadly.
5 Making a success of reformed battlegroups within the RDC concept therefore constitutes a litmus test for the success of the Strategic compass. A successful RDC would help the EU become a more credible and effective rapid crisis responder, able to act autonomously from other actors in a range of situations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182680782&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/ia/iiad247
DO - 10.1093/ia/iiad247
M3 - Article
SN - 0020-5850
VL - 100
SP - 181
EP - 201
JO - International Affairs (London)
JF - International Affairs (London)
IS - 1
ER -
