Franco-German leadership in the context of EU defence policy: from Brexit to the strategic compass

ABSTRACT

Leadership is crucial for the success of a collective actor in reaching common goals. Its relevance is particularly visible in the EU, due to the difficulty in managing and converging a wide range of interests, especially in the intergovernmental field of defence. This article analyses Franco-German transactional leadership throughout the evolution of the EU’s security and defence policy, with a focus on the effects of Brexit. By highlighting the concept of leadership in international relations, this study identifies Franco-German actions and strategies within the Common Security and Defence Policy, reflecting on how these have shaped European defence and how Brexit changed existing dynamics. We conclude that France and Germany have led the EU’s security and defence project, albeit with limited success, with a shift towards a successful relaunch of EU defence in the aftermath of Brexit, aided by doubts over NATO and war in Ukraine. At the core of that limited success and representing the main obstacle lay diverging interests and strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• European union
• CSDP
• Franco-German axis
• leadership
• defence
• Brexit

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Cf. the negative impact of French domestic policies in the performance of the French Council Presidency in 2000.

2. i.e., an actor’s ability to influence the actions of another through coercion (Helms 2014, 264).

3. The process of ‘domestic adaptation to the pressures emanating directly or indirectly from EU membership’ (Featherstone 2003, 7).

4. Prior to this proposal, the Franco-German Security and Defence Council had already called for the standardization of the European defence industry with the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises in the EDTIB, while pushing for more funding regarding research and development programs (German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2014).