With economies in ruins and without US military leadership Europe looks rudderless and hardly capable of managing its own military affairs. Indeed, with money troubles and President Obama’s refocus on Asia in mind, peers urge Europe to “keep America’s engagement by stepping up to the mark itself.”
But the signs aren’t good. Former national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts told peers that every European country involved in the Libya campaign had run short of weapons, except Britain. The Americans must have had their heads in their hands.
European Defence Agency stats on military spend as a percentage of GDP are telling. Britain tops the table in 2010 with 2.6 per cent, but it’s the bankrupt Greeks who take second place, holding off the mighty Cyprus in third. Members of NATO are committed to spending 2 per cent of their budgets on defence, yet Germany is 14th with 1.3 per cent, four places behind the warmongering Fins! They spent the same this year, too.
And it gets worse for the Germans. Between 2002 and 2011, a quarter of Greece’s arms imports came from the Fatherland, and almost 15 per cent of its military exports head straight for Athens. Greek MP Dimitris Papadimoulis has also accused German giants Ferrostaal and Siemens of bribing Greek officials.
“Despite being Europe’s economic powerhouse, and having a large defence budget in absolute terms, Germany does not pull it weight in military operations,” says the Lords committee. “Historical and cultural objections…must be overcome if the EU is to have an effective security and defence policy.” Former US ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns told peers that Germany had become “a drag on NATO”.
It certainly has. Initial cold feet over Afghanistan and giving Libya a miss was unacceptable. Its past is no longer an excuse. There’s no poster of Kaiser Wilhelm on Merkel’s wall, yet her subjects are edgy. When asked about the German perspective, Dr Christian Moelling of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a think tank, asked: “If Germany spent 2% of its GDP, or €50bn, on defence, would others feel threatened?”
Of course not, though naval races should be avoided at all costs, and let the French keep Alsace-Lorraine.
Peers rightly acknowledge “defence in Europe is not a tidy affair.” Better coordination means better cooperation, but governments are falling like dominos and spending more on guns isn’t a vote-winner. UK taxpayers bankrolled £36bn of arms spending in 2010, more than anywhere else in Europe. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute we’re the fourth largest defence spender in the world and, even after budget cuts, we’ll spend about £34bn on both this year and next.
France is close behind, and has played a crucial role militarily since Sarkozy came to power - French warplanes were first to strike at Colonel Gaddafi last year. However, its gung-ho days look over now that Francois Hollande is in the hot seat. The inexperienced socialist has already promised to pull French troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2012, one year early.
Crucially, though, it is the willingness of the 21 members with joint EU and NATO membership to deploy forces that will make or break Europe’s military reputation in the 21st century. It’s quite clear that without some sort of consensus, the burden of responsibility will fall on Britain’s shoulders. “The UK and France should lead efforts to strengthen European defence capabilities,” say peers. “If they do not, they will find themselves having to contribute a disproportionate share of forces to European defence and security operations.”
Amazingly, of the 1.7m military personnel in Europe, just 66,000 are currently deployed, and that could halve when troops leave Afghanistan in 2014. Hopefully, the willingness of smaller states like Slovakia and Slovenia to be “good Europeans” and do their bit will embarrass Germany into action.
For British defence companies, this report is pretty neutral. Countries tend to spend most of their military budget on domestic suppliers, driven by job and investment priorities. That means dozens of hugely expensive weapons programmes running side-by-side. Indeed, four types of combat aircraft - the Joint Strike Fighter, Eurofighter, Gripen and Rafale – are all under development by EU member states.
It may upset the Lords who call for a more efficient European military machine, but it’s great news for investors to hear that all of our listed defence contractors have a piece of kit on at least one of these jets. BAE Systems helps make three of them and, along with other UK suppliers, produces over a third of the Typhoon. Fitting, then, that they’ll be protecting us during this summer’s Olympics.
