Common Security and Defence Policy

Since 2002, the European Union has intervened abroad thirty-five times in three different continents.

The first deployment of European troops under the ESDP, following the 1999 declaration of intent, was in March 2003 in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM, today: North Macedonia). Operation Concordia used NATO assets and was considered a success and replaced by a smaller police mission, EUPOL Proxima, later that year. Since then, there have been other small police, justice and monitoring missions. As well as in the FYROM, the EU has maintained its deployment of peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of Operation Althea.[9]

Between May and September 2003 EU troops were deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during "Operation Artemis" under a mandate given by UN Security Council Resolution 1484 which aimed to prevent further atrocities and violence in the Ituri Conflict and put the DRC's peace process back on track. This laid out the "framework nation" system to be used in future deployments. The EU returned to the DRC during July–November 2006 with EUFOR RD Congo, which supported the UN mission there during the country's elections.

Geographically, EU missions outside the Balkans and the DRC have taken place in Georgia, Indonesia, Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine–Moldova. There is also a judicial mission in Iraq (EUJUST Lex). On 28 January 2008, the EU deployed its largest and most multi-national mission to Africa, EUFOR Tchad/RCA.[10] The UN-mandated mission involves troops from 25 EU states (19 in the field) deployed in areas of eastern Chad and the north-eastern Central African Republic in order to improve security in those regions. EUFOR Tchad/RCA reached full operation capability in mid-September 2008, and handed over security duties to the UN (MINURCAT mission) in mid-March 2009.[11]

The EU launched its first maritime CSDP operation on 12 December 2008 (Operation Atalanta). The concept of the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) was created on the back of this operation, which is still successfully combatting piracy off the coast of Somalia almost a decade later. A second such intervention was launched in 2015 to tackle migration problems in the southern Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR Med), working under the name Operation SOPHIA.

Most of the CSDP missions deployed so far are mandated to support security sector reforms (SSR) in host-states. One of the core principles of CSDP support to SSR is local ownership. The EU Council defines ownership as "the appropriation by the local authorities of the commonly agreed objectives and principles".[12] Despite EU's strong rhetorical attachment to the local ownership principle, research shows that CSDP missions continue to be an externally driven, top-down and supply-driven endeavour, resulting often in the low degree of local participation.[13]

The CSDP is implemented using civilian and military contributions from member states' armed forces, which also are obliged to collective self-defence based on Treaty on European Union (TEU).

Five EU states host nuclear weapons: France has its own nuclear programmes, while Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands host US nuclear weapons as part of NATO's nuclear sharing policy. Combined, the EU possesses 300 warheads, and hosts between 90 and 130 US warheads. Italy hosts 70-90 B61 nuclear bombs, while Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands 10-20 each one.[19] The EU has the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, after the United States and Russia.

The following table presents the military expenditures of the members of the European Union in euros (€). The combined military expenditure of the member states amounted to €223.4 billion in 2018.[2] This represents 1.4% of European Union GDP. European military expenditure includes spending on joint projects such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and joint procurement of equipment. The European Union's combined active military forces in 2016 totaled 1,410,626 personnel.[1]

In a speech in 2012, Swedish General Håkan Syrén criticised the spending levels of European Union countries, saying that in the future those countries' military capability will decrease, creating "critical shortfalls".[20]

Guide to table:

• All figure entries in the table below are provided by the European Defence Agency for the year 2017, except for Germany's personnel figure, which is for 2016. Figures from other sources are not included.
• The "operations & maintenance expenditure" category may in some circumstances also include finances on-top of the nations defence budget.
• The categories "troops prepared for deployed operations" and "troops prepared for deployed and sustained operation" only include land force personnel.

Member state	Expenditure (€ mn.)	Per capita (€)	% of GDP	Operations & maintenance expenditure (€ mn.)	Active military personnel	Land troops prepared for deployed and sustained operations	Reserve personnel
Austria[1]	2,673	301	0.74	574	24,190	1,100	950,000
Belgium[1]	5,672	349	1.1	680	27,789	1,293	3,300
Bulgaria[1]	1,140	109	1.56	118	30,218	1,168	3,000
Croatia[1]	950	149	1.5	154	14,862	796	18,343
Cyprus[1]	470	409	1.83	63	20,000	0	75,000
Czech Republic[1]	3,310	184	1.46	474	23,036	672	3,236
Estonia[1]	748	363	2.31	158	6,178	100	60,000
Finland[1]	4,873	523	2.15	919	7,515	1,738	900,000
France[1]	49,700	609	1.79	10,201	208,251	17,000	38,550
Germany[1]	57,300	489	1.53		177,608		29,200
Greece[1]	7,086	393	3.82	504	106,624	2,432
Hungary[1]	2,200	122	1.66	492	23,846	1,000	20,000
Ireland[1]	780	191	0.31	103	9,500	850	1,778
Italy[1]	26,310	339	1.6	1,583	181,116		18,300
Latvia[1]	758	243	2.23	132	5,686	75	3,000
Lithuania[1]	1,028	256	2.13	145	14,350		26,000
Luxembourg[1]	389	484	0.56	30	824	57
Malta[1]	54	122	0.51	8	1,808	30
Netherlands[1]	12,900	507	1.5	2,144	40,196	1,500	5,046
Poland[1]	11,940	226	2.2	1,918	106,500	60	75,400
Portugal[1]	3,975	235	1.6	142	32,726	1,698
Romania[1]	5,590	185	2.0	277	69,542	2,961	50,000
Slovakia[1]	1,520	183	1.75	198	13,152	846
Slovenia[1]	548	204	1.04	72	6,342	707	1,000
Spain[1]	15,660	231	1.2	1,891	120,812	7,410	15,150
Sweden[1]	5,620	460	1.1	1,973	14,500	750	34,500
EU[1]	222,194	365	1.50		1,287,171		2,330,803

Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is one of the largest commissioned warships in the European Union.

The combined component strength of the naval forces of member states is some 514 commissioned warships. Of those in service, 4 are fleet carriers. The EU also has 4 amphibious assault ships and 20 amphibious support ships in service. Of the EU's 49 submarines, 10 are nuclear-powered submarines while 39 are conventional attack submarines.

Operation Atalanta (formally European Union Naval Force Somalia) is the first ever (and still ongoing) naval operation of the European Union. It is part of a larger global action by the EU in the Horn of Africa to deal with the Somali crisis. As of January 2011 twenty-three EU nations participate in the operation.

France and Italy have blue-water navies.[21]

Guide to table:

• Ceremonial vessels, research vessels, supply vessels, training vessels, and icebreakers are not included.
• The table only counts warships that are commissioned (or equivalent) and active.
• Surface vessels displacing less than 200 tonnes are not included, regardless of other characteristics.
• The "amphibious support ship" category includes amphibious transport docks and dock landing ships, and tank landing ships.
• Frigates over 6,000 tonnes are classified as destroyers.
• The "patrol vessel" category includes missile boats.
• The "anti-mine ship" category includes mine countermeasures vessels, minesweepers and minehunters.
• Generally, total tonnage of ships is more important than total number of ships, as it gives a better indication of capability.

Member state	Fleet carrier	Amphibious assault ship	Amphibious support ship	Destroyer	Frigate	Corvette	Patrol vessel	Anti-mine ship	Missile sub.	Attack sub.	Total	Tonnage
Austria											0	0
Belgium[22]					2		2	5			9	10,009
Bulgaria			1		4	3	1	10			18	15,160
Croatia							5	2			7	2,869
Cyprus							5				5	0
Czech Republic											0	0
Denmark[23]				5	4		9				18	51,235
Estonia								3			3	2,000
Finland						4	4	12			20	5,429
France[24]	1[lower-alpha 4]	3		13	11		20	18	4	6	76	319,195
Germany[25]				3	7	5	8	15		6	44	82,790
Greece[26]			9		13		33[27]	4		11[27]	70	138,565
Hungary											0	0
Ireland[28]							8				8	11,219
Italy[29]	2[lower-alpha 5]+1[lower-alpha 6]	(1)[lower-alpha 6]	3[lower-alpha 7]	4	16	5	11	10		8	59	303,411
Latvia								5			5	3,025
Lithuania[30]							4	4			8	5,678
Luxembourg											0	0
Malta[31]							2				2	1,419
Netherlands[32]			2	4	2		4	6		4	22	116,308
Poland[33]			5		2	1	3	19		3	28	19,724
Portugal[34]					5	7	7			2	23	34,686
Romania[35]					3	7	6	5			21	23,090
Slovakia											0	0
Slovenia[36]							1	1			2	435
Spain[37]	1[lower-alpha 8]	(1)[lower-alpha 8]	2[lower-alpha 9]	5[lower-alpha 10]	6[lower-alpha 11]		23	6		3	46	148,607
Sweden[38]						6		11		5	22	14,256
EU	4	4	22	34	75	38	156	136	4	48	514 ~516	1,309,110 ~1,309,110

The Leopard 2 main battle tank

Combined, the member states of the European Union maintain large numbers of various land-based military vehicles and weaponry.

Guide to table:

• The table is not exhaustive and primarily includes vehicles and EU-NATO member countries under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE treaty). Unless otherwise specified.
• The CFE treaty only includes vehicles stationed within Europe, vehicles overseas on operations are not counted.
• The "main battle tank" category also includes tank destroyers (such as the Italian B1 Centauro) or any self-propelled armoured fighting vehicle, capable of heavy firepower. According to the CFE treaty.
• The "armoured fighting vehicle" category includes any armoured vehicle primarily designed to transport infantry and equipped with an automatic cannon of at least 20 mm calibre. According to the CFE treaty.
• The "artillery" category includes self-propelled or towed howitzers and mortars of 100 mm calibre and above. Other types of artillery are not included regardless of characteristics. According to the CFE treaty.
• The "attack helicopter" category includes any rotary wing aircraft armed and equipped to engage targets or equipped to perform other military functions (such as the Apache or the Wildcat). According to the CFE treaty.
• The "military logistics vehicle" category includes logistics trucks of 4-tonne, 8-tonne, 14-tonne or larger, purposely designed for military tasking. Not under CFE treaty.

Member state	Main battle tank	Armoured fighting vehicle	Artillery	Attack helicopter	Military logistics vehicle
Austria	56	364	90
Belgium[39]		521	155	27
Bulgaria[39]	362	681	1,035	12
Croatia[40]	75	283	127	10
Cyprus	134	169	234	15	398
Czech Republic[39]	123	501	182	24
Denmark[39]	46	229	56	12
Estonia[41]			74
Finland	200	1,080	722	25
France[39]	450	6,256	349	283	10,746
Germany[39]	815	1,774	401	158
Greece[39]	1,622	2,187	1,920	29
Hungary[39]	30	400	12	8
Ireland[42]		107	36
Italy[39]	1,176	3,145	1,446	107	10,921
Latvia
Lithuania[43]		88	96
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands[39]	16	634	135	21
Poland[44]	1,675	3,110	1,580	83
Portugal[39]	220	425	377
Romania[39]	857	1,272	1,273	23
Slovakia[39]	30	327	68
Slovenia	76	52	63
Spain[39]	484	1,007	811	27
Sweden	120	978	268
EU[39]	8,413	25,421	11,259	822

The air forces of EU member states operate a wide range of military systems and hardware. This is primarily due to the independent requirements of each member state and also the national defence industries of some member states. However such programmes like the Eurofighter Typhoon and Eurocopter Tiger have seen many European nations design, build and operate a single weapons platform. 60% of overall combat fleet was developed and manufactured by member states, 32% are US-origin, but some of these were assembled in Europe, while remaining 8% are soviet-made aircraft. As of 2014, it is estimated that the European Union had around 2,000 serviceable combat aircraft (fighter aircraft and ground-attack aircraft).[45]

The EUs air-lift capabilities are evolving with the future introduction of the Airbus A400M (another example of EU defence cooperation). The A400M is a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities.[46] Around 140 are initially expected to be operated by 5 member states (Luxembourg, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium).

Guide to tables:

• The tables are sourced from figures provided by Flight International for the year 2020.
• Aircraft are grouped into three main types (indicated by colours): red for combat aircraft, green for aerial refueling aircraft, and grey for strategic and tactical transport aircraft.
• The two "other" columns include additional aircraft according to their type sorted by colour (i.e. the "other" category in red includes combat aircraft, while the "other" category in grey includes both aerial refueling and transport aircraft). This was done because it was not feasible allocate every aircraft type its own column.
• Other aircraft such as trainers, helicopters, UAVs and reconnaissance or surveillance aircraft are not included in the below tables or figures.

Fighter and ground-attack

Member state	Typhoon	Rafale	Mirage 2000	Gripen	F-16	F/A-18	F-35	Tornado	MiG-29	Other	Total
Austria[45]	15										15
Belgium[45]					52		(34 ordered)				52
Bulgaria[45]					(10 ordered)				11	6 Su-25	17
Croatia[45]		(12 ordered)								12 MiG-21	12
Cyprus[45]
Czech Republic[45]				12			(24 ordered)			16 L-159	28
Denmark[45]					33		4 (23 ordered)				33
Estonia[45]
Finland[45]						62	(64 ordered)				62
France[45]		135 (134 ordered)	97								232
Germany[45]	134 (38)						(35 ordered)	81		30 Tornado ECR	245
Greece[45]		6 (18[47])	42		153[48]					33 F-4	234[48]
Hungary[45]				14							14
Ireland[45]
Italy[45]	94						30 (108 ordered)	71		58 AMX, 15 Harrier II, 13 Tornado ECR	281[49]
Latvia[45]
Lithuania[45]
Luxembourg[45]
Malta[45]
Netherlands[45]					29		26 (26 ordered)				55
Poland[45]					48		(32 ordered)		23	32 Su-22	103
Portugal[45]					25						25
Romania[45]					17					16 MiG-21	33
Slovakia[45]					(12 ordered)				10		10
Slovenia[45]
Spain[45]	68 (20 ordered)					84				12 Harrier II	164
Sweden[45]				94 (70 ordered)							94
EU[45]	311	141	139	120	357	146	60 (346)	152	44	243	1,713

Aerial refueling and transport

Member state	A330 MRTT	A310 MRTT	KC-135/707	C-17	C-130	C-160	C-27J	CN-235/C-295	An-26	A400M	Other	Total
Austria[45]					3						8 PC-6	11
Belgium[45]					9					7	3 ERJ-135/145	19
Bulgaria[45]							2		1		1 L-410 & 1 PC-12	5
Croatia[45]
Cyprus[45]											1 BN-2	1
Czech Republic[45]								4			4 L-410	8
Denmark[45]					4							4
Estonia[45]											2 An-28/M28	2
Finland[45]								3			3 Learjet 35 & 6 PC-12NG	12
France[45]	2		14		16	15		27		15	3 A340	92
Germany[45]		4				42				31	2 A319	76
Greece[45]					13		8					21
Hungary[45]									4			4
Ireland[45]								2			1 BNT-2 CC2/B	3
Italy[45]					16		12				4 KC-767 3 KC-130J 3 A319	38
Latvia[45]
Lithuania[45]							3				1	4
Luxembourg[45]										1		1
Malta[45]											2 BNT-2 CC2/B 2 King Air 200	4
Netherlands[45]					4						2 (K)DC-10	6
Poland[45]					5			16				20
Portugal[45]					6			7				13
Romania[45]					2		7		2			11
Slovakia[45]							2				5 Let L-410 Turbolet	7
Slovenia[45]											1 Let L-410 Turbolet 2 Pilatus PC-6 Porter 1 Dassault Falcon 2000	4
Spain[45]			2		7			21		6	5 KC-130H 2 A310	37
Sweden[45]					7						1 KC-130H	8
Shared within EU	3 (6) part of MMF											3
EU[45]	5	4	16	0	83	107	30	81	16	60	41	391

Irish Army personnel from the Nordic Battle Group at an exercise in 2010

The Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue is a listing of rapid reaction forces composed of 60,000 troops managed by the European Union, but under control of the countries who deliver troops for it.

Forces introduced at Union level include:

• The battle groups (BG) adhere to the CSDP, and are based on contributions from a coalition of member states. Each of the eighteen Battlegroups consists of a battalion-sized force (1,500 troops) reinforced with combat support elements.[50][51] The groups rotate actively, so that two are ready for deployment at all times. The forces are under the direct control of the Council of the European Union. The Battlegroups reached full operational capacity on 1 January 2007, although, as of January 2013 they are yet to see any military action.[52] They are based on existing ad hoc missions that the European Union (EU) has undertaken and has been described by some as a new "standing army" for Europe.[51] The troops and equipment are drawn from the EU member states under a "lead nation". In 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the plans and emphasised the value and importance of the Battlegroups in helping the UN deal with troublespots.[53]
• The Medical Command (EMC) is a planned medical command centre in support of EU missions, formed as part of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).[54] The EMC will provide the EU with a permanent medical capability to support operations abroad, including medical resources and a rapidly deployable medical task force. The EMC will also provide medical evacuation facilities, triage and resuscitation, treatment and holding of patients until they can be returned to duty, and emergency dental treatment. It will also contribute to harmonising medical standards, certification and legal (civil) framework conditions.[55]
• The Force Crisis Response Operation Core (EUFOR CROC) is a flagship defence project under development as part of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). EURFOR CROC will contribute to the creation of a "full spectrum force package" to speed up provision of military forces and the EU's crisis management capabilities.[56] Rather than creating a standing force, the project involves creating a concrete catalogue of military force elements that would speed up the establishment of a force when the EU decides to launch an operation. It is land-focused and aims to generate a force of 60,000 troops from the contributing states alone. While it does not establish any form of "European army", it foresees an deployable, interoperable force under a single command.[57] Germany is the lead country for the project, but the French are heavily involved and it is tied to President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to create a standing intervention force. The French see it as an example of what PESCO is about.[58]

Personnel of the European Corps in Strasbourg, France, during a change of command ceremony in 2013

This section presents an incomplete list of forces and bodies established intergovernmentally amongst a subset of member states. These organisations will deploy forces based on the collective agreement of their member states. They are typically technically listed as being able to be deployed under the auspices of NATO, the United Nations, the European Union (EU) through Article 42.3 of TEU, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or any other international entity.

However, with the exception of the Eurocorps, very few have actually been deployed for any real military operation, and none under the CSDP at any point in its history.

Land Forces:

• The Eurocorps is an army corps of approximately 1,000 soldiers stationed in Strasbourg, France. Based in the French city of Strasbourg, the corps is the nucleus of the Franco-German Brigade.[59]
• The I. German/Dutch Corps is a multinational formation consisting of units from the Dutch and German armies. Due to its role as a NATO High Readiness Forces Headquarters, soldiers from other NATO member states, the United States, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom amongst others, are also stationed at Münster.
• The Multinational Corps Northeast, a Danish-German-Polish multinational corps
• The European Gendarmerie Force, an intervention force with militarised police functions which specializes in crisis management.[60]

Aerial:

• The European Air Transport Command exercises operational control of the majority of the aerial refueling capabilities and military transport fleets of its participating nations. Located at Eindhoven Airbase in the Netherlands, the command also bears a limited responsibility for exercises, aircrew training and the harmonisation of relevant national air transport regulations.[61][62] The command was established in 2010 to provide a more efficient management of the participating nations' assets and resources in this field.

Naval:

• The European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR or EMF) is a non-standing,[63] military force[64] that may carry out naval, air and amphibious operations, with an activation time of 5 days after an order is received.[65] The force was formed in 1995 to fulfill missions defined in the Petersberg Declaration, such as sea control, humanitarian missions, peacekeeping operations, crisis response operations, and peace enforcement.