Austria's role in EU defense: together strong against new threats!

Austria's role in EU defense: together strong against new threats!

In a crucial step towards strengthening European security, Reinhold Lopatka, the ÖVP delegation manager in the European Parliament, now called for a deeper and common defense policy within the EU. Austria, which has been active in the NATO partnership for peace since his joining EU in 1995, must work for increased military cooperation, according to Lopatka, to effectively counter the changed threat situation, including cyber attacks and asymmetrical warfare. The EU already has 17 different tank types, while the United States only gets along, which underlines the urgency of a more uniform procurement of defense goods. According to ots.at the upcoming EU summit should discuss these topics in order to develop a common strategy for the protection of all member states.

Common security and defense policy

The opaque geopolitical conditions required a rapid development of the joint security and defense policy (GSVP) of the EU, which plays a key role in the context of European foreign and security policy. This policy ensures that Member States pull together together in order not only to the security of the Union, but also global peace and security, such as Europarl.europa.eu reports. The challenges of the Russian attack war against Ukraine accelerated this process and initiated that all 27 Member States now take part in the GSVP.

The GSVP includes initiatives for joint armaments and strategic cooperation. In this way, business games are put into practice within the EU to create a European defense union. In the meantime, 24 EU missions abroad have already been active to cope with crises and conflicts. In view of the tightening threats, increased political and military cooperation between the Member States is essential in order to be able to react effectively to future challenges.