This excerpt from President Macron’s Sorbonne Speech 2.0 of April 25, 2024, is emblematic of the complex debates about the future of Europe and the stalled progress of the common European security and defense policy, which have gained significant momentum since Russia’s renewed aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. With similar emphasis, former Chancellor Scholz had already, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion, outlined the realignment of German security and defense policy in his Zeitenwende speech. If one tries to summarize the opaque conglomerate of ideas and proposals from politics, academia, and society regarding the future of European security and defense policy in a few striking words, it would probably be: “Europeans, finally wake up and act before it is too late!” But where does this sense of urgency come from? Russia has launched a brutal war of conquest against a sovereign state in Europe. We in Europe are thus facing historic challenges, underpinned by numerous other geopolitical shifts and raising questions about Europe’s future role in the global security architecture. The risk of hostilities and the involvement of European interests through direct or indirect effects on energy security, migration, and counterterrorism has increased significantly. All these upheavals are less the cause and more the symptom of a continuous development in which authoritarian actors in an increasingly multipolar world are gradually challenging rules-based multilateralism and the territorial integrity of states. What does this mean for us Europeans? The hotspots and conflicts around us are increasing and becoming more internationalized, military narratives are moving to the center of European politics, and our closest ally across the Atlantic could reduce its security guarantees, which would destabilize the peace order we have taken for granted. This is all the more true since the clear political shift in the United States under President Trump after his re-election in November 2024. The renewed rhetoric of “America First” and statements about conditioning or even suspending NATO’s mutual defense commitment in the event of insufficient European defense spending have once again made it clear: Europe can no longer take the United States for granted. The conclusion for us is: We Europeans must— to use the words of former Chancellor Angela Merkel— “take our destiny more into our own hands […] if we want to survive as a community” (Merkel 2018). Above all, we must think and act more strategically autonomously. This narrative by no means implies a departure from the transatlantic security community. Rather, it describes the sustainable consolidation of a European pillar within the transatlantic alliance, so that Europe can act effectively with its partners from a political-strategic, defense-industrial, and operational perspective, but is also capable of acting independently if necessary (Council of the European Union 2016, p. 2). How can Europe be enabled to act effectively in security and defense policy? Fundamentally, it requires an adequate level of financial, material, and human resources so that EU states can ensure better equipment, training, and organization and grow into a strong defense community. To achieve this, resources within the European framework must be efficiently coordinated and pooled to avoid duplication and national parochialism. Initiatives within the EU, such as the European Defence Fund (EDF) or initial instruments for joint procurement, contribute to greater interoperability and are steps in the right direction, but repeatedly reach their limits due to member states’ reservations about sovereignty and remain modest in scope. All the more, therefore, is a shared understanding of long-term strategic goals needed, as well as mutual trust and, as a basis, the political will and conviction to act better with partners rather than alone (Grevi 2019, p. 10). How can the EU member states be motivated to act together as Europeans?

Introduction: The Relevance of the Franco-German Engine for European Security and Defense Policy

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发表日期：

2026年

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Sandra Weeser

摘要

This excerpt from President Macron’s Sorbonne Speech 2.0 of April 25, 2024, is emblematic of the complex debates about the future of Europe and the stalled progress of the common European security and defense policy, which have gained significant momentum since Russia’s renewed aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. With similar emphasis, former Chancellor Scholz had already, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion, outlined the realignment of German security and defense policy in his Zeitenwende speech. If one tries to summarize the opaque conglomerate of ideas and proposals from politics, academia, and society regarding the future of European security and defense policy in a few striking words, it would probably be: “Europeans, finally wake up and act before it is too late!” But where does this sense of urgency come from? Russia has launched a brutal war of conquest against a sovereign state in Europe. We in Europe are thus facing historic challenges, underpinned by numerous other geopolitical shifts and raising questions about Europe’s future role in the global security architecture. The risk of hostilities and the involvement of European interests through direct or indirect effects on energy security, migration, and counterterrorism has increased significantly. All these upheavals are less the cause and more the symptom of a continuous development in which authoritarian actors in an increasingly multipolar world are gradually challenging rules-based multilateralism and the territorial integrity of states. What does this mean for us Europeans? The hotspots and conflicts around us are increasing and becoming more internationalized, military narratives are moving to the center of European politics, and our closest ally across the Atlantic could reduce its security guarantees, which would destabilize the peace order we have taken for granted. This is all the more true since the clear political shift in the United States under President Trump after his re-election in November 2024. The renewed rhetoric of “America First” and statements about conditioning or even suspending NATO’s mutual defense commitment in the event of insufficient European defense spending have once again made it clear: Europe can no longer take the United States for granted. The conclusion for us is: We Europeans must— to use the words of former Chancellor Angela Merkel— “take our destiny more into our own hands […] if we want to survive as a community” (Merkel 2018). Above all, we must think and act more strategically autonomously. This narrative by no means implies a departure from the transatlantic security community. Rather, it describes the sustainable consolidation of a European pillar within the transatlantic alliance, so that Europe can act effectively with its partners from a political-strategic, defense-industrial, and operational perspective, but is also capable of acting independently if necessary (Council of the European Union 2016, p. 2). How can Europe be enabled to act effectively in security and defense policy? Fundamentally, it requires an adequate level of financial, material, and human resources so that EU states can ensure better equipment, training, and organization and grow into a strong defense community. To achieve this, resources within the European framework must be efficiently coordinated and pooled to avoid duplication and national parochialism. Initiatives within the EU, such as the European Defence Fund (EDF) or initial instruments for joint procurement, contribute to greater interoperability and are steps in the right direction, but repeatedly reach their limits due to member states’ reservations about sovereignty and remain modest in scope. All the more, therefore, is a shared understanding of long-term strategic goals needed, as well as mutual trust and, as a basis, the political will and conviction to act better with partners rather than alone (Grevi 2019, p. 10). How can the EU member states be motivated to act together as Europeans?