Aleph - Analisi strategiche’s Post

At a time when European states are going through economic difficulties and are experiencing, for some, a high budget deficit, shouldn't the EU invest in European Defence? Not just financing the war in Ukraine? By participating in the financing of military equipment for European armies?  A fund to equip European armies within the European Peace Facility (EPF)? 

I’m excited to share my latest article for the Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review. I discuss how Finland is embracing a Nordic-Atlantic orientation within NATO, driven by strategic military factors and, also, cooperation beyond the alliance's structures. Importantly, this evolving approach does not overlook the Baltic Sea region or Finland's Baltic allies, as both are essential to Finnish national security. ➡ https://lnkd.in/dihx_JHB

📰 Policy Brief | Military Mobility 2.0 revisited: Lessons learnt The Russian invasion of Ukraine has underscored the urgent need to simplify and harmonise military mobility across EU and NATO member states, ensuring swift movement of military assets and equipment in times of crisis. This new policy brief by EPC’s Mihai Chihaia examines: 1️⃣ The complementary roles of NATO and the EU in military mobility 2️⃣ Steps taken over the past two years to enhance EU-NATO coordination 3️⃣ Challenges and best practices at both national and regional levels With security and defence high on the EU’s agenda, enhancing military mobility remains central to preparing for future threats. Read more for recommendations on building stronger, coordinated defence capabilities across Europe. This Policy Brief is produced in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. https://lnkd.in/eg23NJrk

With Sweden's accession to NATO, a watershed moement, enormous shift have to come both for Sweden and NATO. Add Finland to the mix, and the Baltic front for NATO is suddenly in play. The Baltic becomes Lake NATO. And Sweden suddenly has a crucial forward role, not a homeland Total Defence role, which augurs major shifts in force posture, strategy, and capability Sweden never needed before. Let's take a look at these. #Sweden, #NATO Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) Anna Jarmuth Jagannath Panda Filip Borges Månsson #DefenceStrategy #SecurityPolicy #ForceStructure #ForceCapability

Before February 2022, I believed Europe was heavily reliant on the US to defend itself against Russia’s ‘formidable capabilities’. Therefore, arguments that Europe should ‘do more for its own security’ felt reasonably rebutted by the notion that – the US was so pivotal to defence that any efforts at European military autonomy wouldn’t make much impact, so why bother. It was a pretty unfair outlook to burden sharing with an ally in my opinion, but leaving that aside there was some accuracy. However, after seeing how well Ukraine has done for two years against Russia’s efforts, it is difficult to claim that Europe cannot defend itself. Europe can guarantee its own security, its time to relieve the US of its responsibility in the theatre so its armed forces can focus on other priorities further east. The US being a part of NATO and a major contributor to European defence is still absolutely key, but Americans should no longer be asked to lead eastern flank security in the way they currently are.

Sweden is now a NATO member! Quote from President Biden's State of the Union address to Congress March 7, 2024 ".. and they know how to fight!". The most important is Sweden's military geographical location in the Baltic Sea area. Whoever controls the island of Gotland has an advantage. The long Swedish coast is an important base area in the specific littoral environment of the Baltic Sea. Sweden has air bases. The Swedish knowledge of Northern European and Arctic terrain is essential. The northern parts of Scandinavia are important regarding the link between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. NATO and Sweden generally need to increase capabilities primarily in the integrated land and air domain. In the Baltic Sea, Swedish competences regarding littoral warfare can contribute to Command of the Sea in defence of the countries around the Baltic Sea. A now growing NATO is good for security in Europe. But the European NATO countries need to increase their defence investments - 2.5% to 3% of GDP - to create a better security for Europe. Whoever wants peace must prepare for war.

NATO and friends: a tale of two exercises 17th June 2024 As NATO marks its 75th anniversary, Callum Fraser considers the strategic role of exercises in delivering deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific arenas. As NATO prepares to mark its 75th anniversary against the dark backdrop of the Ukraine conflict, it has just completed its largest and perhaps most significant post-Cold War exercise, Steadfast Defender. On the other side of the world, where strategic clouds are gathering, Australia and the United States are laying plans for the largest and most important edition yet of their main biennial joint training exercise, Talisman Sabre. This will likely also involve the most significant contributions yet by other partner nations, including from Europe. These two major sets of manoeuvres are a reminder of the importance of exercises in delivering defence, deterrence and strategic messaging – demonstrating both will and capability. They also point to the increasingly intertwined security concerns and connections between the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific theatres.

🚨 NEW PUBLICATION | NATO and the European Union: Bridging the gap In this Discussion Paper, Andrew Duff examines how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed structural flaws in how the West organises its European defence and how the European Union and NATO have struggled to coordinate, risking duplication and competition. Despite largely overlapping membership, neither organisation has been able to realise conventional solid defence forces. Europe’s armaments industries remain largely fragmented. Ukraine’s application to join the EU and NATO upturns the status quo. Read it now 👇

📺 Live from the #NATOPublicForum: Alena Kudzko, Vice President for Policy and Programming at GLOBSEC, interviewed the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo. Key points from their talk: - With meeting the planned military equipment supply Belgium will be the biggest contributor to fighter jet capacities of Ukraine. - Regardless from the results of the recent elections stability and long-term commitments to help Ukraine will be respected. - During the las 3 years Belgium has increased its military spending by 30 %. - Future role of private investments in defense. 👉 Watch the full discussion here: bit.ly/3XY1gID #1NATO75years #WeAreNATO #NATOSummit

All European countries should be more Finnish