European defence capabilities : lessons from the past, signposts for the future, 31st report of session 2010-12

Since the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the Soviet threat to Western Europe, Europeans and the United States have had to re-consider the threats to their security, which have become unclear and unpredictable.

More recently the shift in the economic and political balance away from the United States and Western Europe towards Asia, a revision in US defence thinking and the economic crisis have created a new situation to which the European Union (EU) and its Member States need to respond.

The strong message from this report is that the pressures on European defence are changing radically with reduced budgets and a United States that will look increasingly to the Asia Pacific region.

Europe can keep America's engagement by stepping up to the mark itself.

European military expenditure is not the only issue; it is also the effectiveness of that spend.

By better coordination of forces and most of all by ensuring that forces are capable of, and willing to, deploy Europe can achieve this now.

It is also essential that the EU's Member States engage in a profound debate about the circumstances under which they would be prepared to use force. With 21 members of both the EU and NATO, what is good for the EU is good for NATO and Europe as a whole.

This is an area where the UK and France should lead efforts to strengthen European defence capabilities. [Report summary]