Please join the Center as we host Jan Wouters, Jean Monnet Chair and Professor of International Law and International Organizations at KU Leuven, for an Erasmus Series lecture on Monday, November 18th, 2024 at 4:00 PM EST in 340 Lavery Hall or online via Zoom. Dr. Wouters will speak about The EU as a Security and Defense Actor: New Dynamics and American Perspectives.

Lecture overview:

The European Union (EU) has a complicated relationship with defense. In 1954 the plan for a European Defence Community floundered, resulting in the development of security and defence cooperation outside the framework of the European Communities, mainly within NATO and – to a smaller extent - the Western European Union (WEU). Only with the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht the perspective of a European security and defense policy was reawakened, initially involving the WEU. The EU Security and Defence Policy was essentially launched in 1999 at the Cologne and Helsinki European Councils, with first missions launched in 2003. The 2007 Treaty of Lisbon consolidated and further developed the institutional framework of what now was called the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). However, it would take the European Council until December 2013 to have a first thematic debate on European defense and decide on a number of priorities. Matters speedened up strongly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In their Versailles Declaration EU leaders pledged to bolster defense capabilities. A month later, the EU Council adopted the “Strategic Compass”, which opens the prospect for (i) a shared assessment of the strategic environment, threats and challenges, (ii) greater coherence and common purpose to actions; (iii) new ways and means to improve the capacity to defend the security of citizens and the EU; and (iv) clear targets and milestones. The EU’s actions in the face of Russia’s military aggression have been comprehensive, including offering military support through the European Peace Facility and an EU Military Assistance Mission. In spite of all of these new dynamics, the EU continues to be considered weak in security and defense. This presentation goes through the recent dynamics and adds reflections from an American perspective.

The welcoming remarks  and Introduction will given by Dr. Yannis Stivachtis, CEUTS’ Director and Jean Monnet Chair and Professor of Political Science at Virginia Tech and Q&A will be moderated by Chad Hankinson, CEUTS’ Associate Director of Administration and Strategic Planning, and Lecturer in Political Science at Virginia Tech.

This hybrid event is free and open to the public.

 

 

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