Resumen de Enfoque multinacional al desarrollo de capacidades de Defensa. La Smart defence de la OTAN frente al Pooling Sharing de la UE: conclusiones
In recent years, the financial, economic and debt crisis is having a negative impact in the defence budgets of the western countries in general and in the European countries in particular. In accordance with the information provided by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the defence expenditure and investment in the period 2008-2010, that is the two years following the economic crisis, the overall figures of the 26 EDA participating Member States has decreased by almost 5% by taking inflation into account.
These cuts in the defence budgets are having a direct impact in the maintenance of current military capabilities and, what is even worst, is heavily impacting in the development and acquisition of new capabilities needed to face today�s increasingly complex and unpredictable security environment global security. As a consequence of this, the ability of the international organizations with defence missions like NATO and the EU to effectively take over its responsibilities in peace keeping, conflict prevention and the strengthening of international security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter, is being putting at serious risk. The lack of proper coordination on this exercise of defence budget cuts may result in the complete loss of key military capabilities in both organizations who´s fundamental purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
Since September 2010 when the Ministers of Defence of the EU discussed for the first time the «pooling & sharing» initiative in Ghent, continuing with the NATO Secretary General speech at the Security Council in Munich in February 2011, where the «smart defence» initiative was presented by the Alliance, there have been quite a number of meetings and actions to develop both issues conceptually and in practical terms.
The present Document on Security of Defence of the Spanish Centre for High Level Defence Studies (CESEDEN) under the title «Multinational approach to defence capabilities development: The NATO smart defence versus the pooling and sharing of the EU», selected as part of its research initiative for the academic year 2011-2012, tries to analyze more in depth these two important strategies.
In its four chapters, the document addressed what the group has considered to be an integrated view of the two initiatives launched by NATO and EU as the way and means to face the present difficulties for the future of the defence capabilities. The analysis is a comprehensive approach to present the issue to the readers. The first chapter tries to address the scenario, the conditions and the commitments on which both initiatives are built. The second one focuses on the explanation and description of the concepts behind the initiatives. A third one deals with the national planning process and the implications on it of the defence capabilities planning process coming out of the two international organizations dealing with the smart defence and the pooling & sharing, that is NATO and the EU. Last but not least the fourth chapter brings to the document the industrial implications of the initiatives which, on the other hand, are considered by the group as a very important factor to be taken into account. Addressing the issue of defence capabilities has, no doubt, an impact on industrial policies both from a national and an international perspective.
The document pretends to be a first comprehensive reference for the next steps that will, for sure, be made by both organizations in the near future and in particular after the NATO Chicago Summit. It is obvious that actions are to be taken by these organizations so the defence capabilities and the industrial capabilities required to provide the defence systems needed by the Armed Forces do not disappear from the western world and that the emerging countries do not overtake them in terms of military readiness to face the today�s challenges and threats. Notwithstanding, it is also important to recognize that the implementation of the smart defence and the pooling & sharing initiatives touch upon important aspects like, for instance, sovereignty and the technological and industrial base of the members. Issues at stake like specialization are not yet mature enough to be accepted by the countries. Therefore one of the main conclusions of the document is that the processes associated to both initiatives have to be analyzed very carefully in order to ensure that they are not the vehicles for selling defence solutions by the big countries having a strong defence sector, leaving aside the technological and industrial base of the rest of the countries with little or no options in the future European and international defence market. Needless to say that any of the initiatives, to be credible, must be substantiated with credible budgets. All in all the future of both NATO and the European Common Security and Defence Po-licy will be at risk if no actions are taking sooner rather than later.
