Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)
The Common Security & Defense Policy (CSDP) constitutes an inherent part of the CFSP and relates to the defense and military cooperation among EU member states, as well as to crisis management. CSDP missions and military operations are an evolution of the Petersberg tasks. Set out originally in the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), they provided a framework of common military action, until the Treaty of Lisbon became effective (2009). The latter contains specific commitments in the field of defense (e.g. articles 42 and 46.2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, as well as "Protocol 10") and security (which crisis management is also a part of).
The Defence & Security commitments that the member states undertook at Lisbon have led, inter alia, to the establishment of the “Permanent Structured Cooperation” or“PESCO”. Within the PESCO framework, willing and military capable Member States are free to undertake additional, voluntary commitments in the area of Defense & Security(see Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315). The initiative to PESCO projects’ development rests always with the member states, while the EU Council takes the relevant decisions, upon a recommendation by the High Representative (HR). In this task, the HR is assisted by the EU Military Committee (EUMC) and the EU Military Staff (EUMS), the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European External Action Service (EEAS). Non-EU countries may also participate in PESCO projects, subject to specific conditionality. In May 2023, the 5th wave of PESCO projects was adopted, increasing the total PESCO project number to 68, ranging from development of common capabilities and enhancement of military mobility to Research & Development etc.
The crises of the current decade, either in the fields of regional security, institutional resilience, public health etc. demand the refocusing of the priorities of the member states and of the Union itself, given the powers assigned to it. In particular, in developing new capabilities; integrating aged defence equipment into new security and deterrence systems; achieving cross-border and operational integration of individual national defence infrastructure; jointly producing and acquiring of ammunition & defense equipment; jointly conducting defence Research & Development; and, finally, achieving synergies with other intergovernmental regional security organisations and international partners. Following Denmark's participation to PESCO, the only member state that remains outside this framework is Malta. As regards the EU’s international partners, they do participate in PESCO projects, on a case-by-case basis, in line with their own defense priorities and upon fulfilling strict conditionality – the US, Canada and Norway.
Strategic Compass
The 2003 Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the EU saw the adoption of the European Security Strategy. The threats and challenges the EU faced at the turn of the millennium and the long-term goals of its member states in the field of the CFSP were listed for the first time. The European Security Strategy evolved into the “Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign and Security Policy” (2016), whose deliverables in Defence & Security were crystallised further in the “Strategic Compass” (2022). This document is a ten-year roadmap for the development of the Union's defense capabilities against conventional and unconventional threats, as well as of its capabilities in crisis management, structured around four pillars: Act, Secure, Invest and Partner. In other words, the European Union and its Member States should be able to act rapidly and robustly, to anticipate, deter and respond to current and fast-emerging threats, to invest in the development of new operational capabilities and to cultivate like-minded partnerships around the world.
The evolution of the EU into an actor of stability and a guarantor of international security presupposes its ability to intervene autonomously and directly; that is to act through its own means and according to the interests of its member states when contested in air, land and sea, across the globe. To this end, the Strategic Compass provides for specialised peace, security and defence tools (see “Assistance Measures” of the European Peace Facility), as well as for the creation of a Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) of up to 5.000 personnel to military operations and/or 200 experts on civilian missions. The latter is recognised as a comparative advantage of the Union's soft, yet effective, power in projecting its vision for the world and in promoting its own interests and those of its member states.
In the quest to protect its citizens and defend its values, the European Union would be unable to deliver, unless its member states provided data, analyses and related processing capabilities. This way, the EU will be in a position to address current threats and recognize, or even prevent, new ones, to both its own and its Member States’ benefit. The development of a structured decision-making and action-taking process (see “toolboxes”) to new types of threats, such as external, malign influence (hybrid threats), external information manipulation and interference (FIMI) or cybercrime (cyber threats), has become a priority in the Union's strategic analysis. Similar tools are also developed for the protection of unimpeded access to, and use of, the common goods of the high seas, the open skies and outer space.
Resources mobilisation, both at the EU and the national level, as well as their effective allocation, is a fundamental prerequisite for the implementation of the Strategic Compass's projections for 2030. Regulation (EU) 2021/697 of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the European Defence Fund (€8 billion), Regulation (EU) 2023/1525 on supporting ammunition production (€500 million) and Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 establishing the European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act (€260 million) have come to force within the current Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027 MFF).
In the complex international environment, where conventional and new threats emerge, addressing them requires synergies, economies of scale, and consolidation of alliances. Therefore, the EU needs to strengthen its cooperation with the UN, NATO and other regional organisations in Europe, Africa and the Far East, to deepen its relationship with traditional like-minded countries, namely the US, Canada, the UK, Norway and Japan, and to cultivate partnerships with neighboring countries in the Western Balkans, the Eastern Neighbourhood and North Africa.
It is within the context of “Partner” that the European Union cooperates with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. With a view to saving resources and not duplicating forces, avoiding overlapping and not putting in doubt the strategic autonomy of the European Union, the two organisations have defined their cooperation, by adopting three Joint Declarations (2016, 2018, 2023). The European Union and NATO cooperate in full transparency and respect for their decision-making autonomy and their respective procedures, on the basis of non-exclusion and reciprocity, taking into account the security and defence interests of all member states.
Greece’s Positions and Contribution to CFSP/CSDP
Greece has been, since the beginning, one of the most consistent supporters of the development of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including the creation of a European Defence & Security identity. In this regard, we supported the need to strengthen the Union with a robust and credible common security and defence policy, built upon a solid and coherent institutional framework and equipped with adequate tools to fulfill its objectives. Committed to European solidarity, Greece engages actively in CFSP/CSDP military operations, civilian missions and hybrid initiatives and works towards the attainment of the strategic autonomy of the Union and its establishment as a reliable international security and stability actor.
With respect to the ongoing military and civilian CSDP missions (https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/missions-and-operations_en), Greece is the leading member state in the defensive maritime Operation ASPIDES, to restore and safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf, under the guidance of the operational headquarters (EL EU OHQ) of Larissa. The latter is one of the five to the disposal of the EU, for the conduct of operations. The rest are located in France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Furthermore, Greece participates in another 16 CSDP missions/operations; namely, EUFOR ALTHEA, EULEX KOSOVO, EUMM GEORGIA, EUMA ARMENIA, EUAM UKRAINE, EUMΑΜ UKRAINE, EUPM MOLDOVA, EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, EUBAM LIBYA, EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, EUTM SOMALIA, EUCAP SOMALIA, EUCAP SAHEL MALI, EUTM MOZAMBIQUE, EUPOL COPPS, EUAM IRAQ. At the same time, our country is part of many PESCO programs and is the project leader in six of them. In addition, in the context of our national contribution to the development of the land military capabilities of the Union, Greece leads the "HELBROC" Battle Group. Finally, as a maritime nation, we further contribute to the Union’s naval capabilities with the Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Center (AMSCC).