Monthly Archives: April 2013

Europe’s defense capabilities gap

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in European News

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The European Defence Agency (EDA) members: Blu...

The European Defence Agency (EDA) members: Blue: European Union Light blue: Opt-out (Denmark) Green: Opt-in (Norway) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Jorge Benitez, NATOSource, April 29, 2013From Thomas Enders and Wolfgang Ischinger, Munich Security Conference:  Demands are growing – as the recent crises in Mali and Libya illustrate – even as defence budgets steadily decline. . . .

In light of this situation, Europe – especially Germany, France, and Great Britain – should reach agreement on three aspects of joint defence:

1.     The strategic objective.

2.     The extent of shared sovereignty.

3.     The design of the market… (more)

(A longer, German version of this article appeared in the German newspaper Handelsblatt [translated here] on April 26, 2013.)

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DOD Conducts ‘BRAC-like’ Review in Europe

29 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in European News, Military and Defense

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Europe - Satellite image - PlanetObserver

Europe – Satellite image (Photo credit: PlanetObserver)

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, April 26, 2013While the U.S. continues to reduce its military presence in Europe, the Defense Department is conducting a review to identify more Europe-based installations and training areas to recommend for closure or realignment….In fact, the U.S. force in Europe has decreased about 80 percent from the height of the Cold War, when the United States had 450,000 service members serving at some 1,200 bases, Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, the U.S. European Command commander and supreme allied commander for Europe, told Congress last month.

Today, Eucom consists of 64,000 joint forces, representing less than 5 percent of the U.S. military, spread across 21 major bases and smaller supporting sites, Stavridis reported… (more)

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Steadfast Jazz 2013 collective defense exercise in the baltics, Poland

22 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baltics, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense

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English:

Baltic States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BNS via Lithuania Tribune, April 22, 2013

Up to 5,000 NATO soldiers will attend Steadfast Jazz 2013, an exercise to be held in the Baltic States and Poland this fall, a NATO officer has said… (more)

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How the Nordic Countries Are Quietly Leading the Alliance into the Future

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Foreign Policy, Military and Defense

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Nordiska passunionen: Norge, Sverige, Finland,...

The Nordic Passport Union: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Magnus Nordenman, New Atlanticist, April 08, 2013Amidst massive defense cuts and perennial squabbling over burden sharing across NATO, the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark have quietly assumed a real leadership role in the transatlantic security relationship. They are making valuable contributions to the Alliance in personnel, strategic vision, operations, and policy. More importantly, they provide a model for how NATO can remain an effective security provider in a future of constrained resources… (more)

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