Joint Military Forces of East-Central Europe in the Light of Selected Political Concepts of the Polish Émigré Milieu

This article attempts to analyse the creation of common armed forces in East-Central Europe on the basis of selected integration concepts of the Polish émigré circles. They considered the notion of consolidating the potentials of countries sharing similar historical experiences as well as a sense of being threatened and protecting similar fundamental values to be part of a larger process of providing the Old Continent with guarantees of security and stable development. From the perspective of international relations at that time, however, none of the concepts of a common security and defence policy could have achieved success, although it could have been considered as one of the alternatives for the development of the process of continental integration, especially if it had been linked to the replenishment of the deficient assets in the potentials of other actors of international relations close to East-Central Europe in terms of development and culture.

EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENCE: A BREAKTHROUGH OR SIMPLY MUDDLING THROUGH

Povzetek V članku je predstavljen razkorak med tem, o čemer smo se na področju Skupne varnostne in obrambne politike Evropske unije že dogovorili in kar smo načrtovali, pa tega še vedno nismo dosegli. Osredotočamo se na njeno strateško avtonomijo in kredibilnost evropskih vojaških sil. Postopek nastajanja Strateškega kompasa je priložnost za ponoven premislek o evropski varnostni prihodnosti in poenotenju stališč držav članic ter za več realizma pri zmanjševanju razkoraka med retoriko in dejanji. Za njeno večjo strateško avtonomijo in kredibilnost vojaških sil predlagamo izboljšave na osmih področjih. Ključne besede Skupna varnostna in obrambna politika Evropske unije, Strateški kompas, strateška avtonomija Evropske unije, evropske vojaške sile. Abstract This article presents the gap between what has already been agreed and planned in the field of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy in the past, and what we have actually achieved. We focus on the EU’s strategic autonomy and the credibility of European military forces. The process of creating the Strategic Compass is an opportunity to rethink Europe's security future, to unify the positions of the Member States, and to increase realism in bridging the gap between rhetoric and action. For greater strategic autonomy and the credibility of the military, we propose improvements in eight actions. Key words EU Common Security and Defence Policy, Strategic Compass, European military forces.

THE FUTURE OF THE COMMON SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY AND SMALL MEMBER STATES

Povzetek Dvaindvajset let po srečanju na vrhu v Kölnu, ki velja za zgodovinsko za SVOP, danes še vedno ne moremo govoriti o popolnoma funkcionalni in operativni SVOP. Prispevek analizira PESCO, CARD, CDP in EDF ter nekatere najpomembnejše težave evropskega obrambnega prizorišča, ki mu primanjkuje skladnosti in ostaja razdrobljeno v številnih vidikih. Države članice še vedno namenjajo veliko več finančnih sredstev za druge varnostne okvire, ki niso del EU, kot je na primer Nato. Prav tako države članice ohranjajo nacionalni fokus na področju obrambnega načrtovanja in v resnici zelo slabo izpolnjujejo dane obljube. Vprašanje je, kaj in koliko v trenutni evropski arhitekturi majhna država članica sploh lahko doseže. Prispevek osvetli vlogo majhnih držav skozi institucijo predsedovanja Evropskemu svetu. Ključne besede SVOP, Slovenija, PESCO, CARD, EDF. Abstract Twenty-two years after the EC meeting in Cologne where the CSDP came to life, we still cannot talk about a fully functional and operational CSDP. This article reflects on PESCO, CARD, the CDP and the EDF, and on some of the main issues in the European defence landscape today, which continues to be fragmented and lacks coherence in several aspects. Member States are still investing more in non-EU frameworks such as NATO, and still retain a national focus in their defence planning, showing very little discipline in meeting the commitments that they have undertaken. The question arises of what a small state can achieve in the current European architecture, if anything. The role of the small state is reflected through the Presidency of the European Council. Key words CSDP, Slovenia, PESCO, CARD, EDF.