The strategic autonomy of the European Union in the field of Security and Defense

Challenges for Portugal

Abstract

The new international framework, marked by shifting geopolitical alignments and balance of power, the emergence of new threats and complex challenges to European security, as well as a significant deterioration of the strategic environment in Europe as a consequence of the war in Ukraine, imposes on the European Union (EU) the need to develop its strategic autonomy and assert its
status and credibility as a co-producer of global security. This is enshrined in the Global Strategy (2016), the Strategic Compass (2022) and the White Paper for European Defence-Readiness 2030 (2025) as a priority objective in security and defence. However, despite the urgency of this topic, the concept of strategic autonomy remains ambiguous in relation to the strategic objectives it aims to achieve, which can be a potential factor for future friction in Europe’s relationship with both the US and NATO.
Making use of the neoclassical realist theory of International Relations, as well as Sven Biscop concept of “Realpolitik with European characteristics” - which postulates that the EU should
pursue a foreign and security policy strategy,
embodied in the use of soft and hard power instruments - we attempt to evaluate the assumptions and objectives surrounding the definition of EU strategic autonomy in the field of security and defence, since such clarification is a fundamental requirement for an ambitious and effective implementation of European initiatives under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP),
twenty years after its conception. Likewise, we seek to identify the main challenges for Portugal, at political, operational, and industrial levels, arising from the development of the EU’s strategic autonomy, and to assess the potential capacity
of influence and adequacy of National Defence in relation to a process which is also likely to contribute to strengthen the credibility and projection of the Portuguese State as a co-producer of international security.