Brussels Briefing with Daniel Keohane, Conrad Häßler, and Henning Riecke
Daniel Keohane, head of strategic affairs at the think tank FRIDE, affirmed that a strategic debate about the future of CSDP is “very badly needed” in light of rapidly changing geo-strategic conditions. He highlighted that “European countries have got to take the lead” because global military power is shifting away from the European West toward Asia and the US is recalibrating its pivot away from Europe. Even more, the European neighborhood has become more and more dangerous, Keohane said. This means that “France, Britain, and Germany must agree if anything is going to happen.” Keohane concluded by referring to the German domestic debate on security and defense: “CSDP will never do more than the German political market can bear.”
Conrad Häßler, desk officer working on CSDP in the Federal Chancellery’s division of international and security affairs, shed light on the German perspective regarding the upcoming European Council, giving a careful overview of issues regarding CSDP that Germany finds worth developing further. He stressed, among other things, that it is in Germany’s interest to strengthen the CSDP’s comprehensive approach. According to Häßler, Germany also sees the need for the EU and its member states to work more closely with strategic partners in terms of training, advice, and equipment.
Henning Riecke, head of the DGAP’s transatlantic program, ventured a view from across the Atlantic. He argued that although the US’s new pivot toward Asia is widely acknowledged, the country’s interest in Europe remains vital. There is no doubt that a robust CDSP is needed to supplement NATO, as the EU will be increasingly affected by conflicts in its neighborhood – from the influx of refugees to the threats of terrorism and organized crime, Riecke said.
Daniel Keohane is a senior researcher and head of strategic affairs in the Brussels office of the Madrid-based think tank FRIDE, where he specializes in EU defense policy. Conrad Häßler is a desk officer at the international affairs division of the German Chancellery, with a double focus on CSDP and bilateral relations with countries in western and southern Europe. Henning Riecke heads the DGAP’s program in transatlantic relations.
The panelists were invited by the DGAP’s Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies on November 6, 2013 as part of its “Brussels Briefing” series. The event was moderated by Almut Möller, head of the Oppenheim Center.
