On EU strategic autonomy: EU-NATO-US cooperation in an era of renewed great power competition

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic singlehandedly awakened the entire planet as to the shortcomings of essentially every dimension of life on earth. Geopolitically, 2021 has also been marked by the Afghanistan withdrawal crisis brought upon by the untimely fall of the city of Kabul. One of the most important takeaways for the EU in the wake of these events, was the reality that the union falls short when it comes to a comprehensive, common crisis management strategy, strategic autonomy, integrated and resilient logistics mechanisms and even political unity. The initial reaction of most EU member states at the inception of the pandemic was complete lockdown, including closing territorial borders and halting exports, especially food and medical supplies. Post Afghanistan, EU member states are continuing their work on the Strategic Compass, the EU strategic autonomy process goes on. The concept of EU strategic autonomy has very much been in fashion in EU circles, frequently used in political discourse, in academia and in the think tank 5 Continuity and Change in European Governance EUROPOLITY, vol. 15, no. 1, 2021 world. Reports are written and official declarations made, but is Europe really ready for strategic autonomy, can EU decision makers construct real consensus in Brussels as to what strategic autonomy means for the union? If there is strategic autonomy, independent from whom and what kind of ramifications would this have for the current security architecture in Europe, especially for NATO. These are questions the present article is looking to analyse. Essentially, what does EU strategic autonomy mean for EU-NATO-US cooperation in an era of renewed great power competition?