Europe examines how to strengthen its defensive capabilities in the face of advancing China and Russia

Josep Borrell reiterated this Sunday the need for Europe and NATO to see their defensive capabilities strengthened faced with the new “multipolar dynamics” of international relations promoted by actors such as China or Russia.

“Important changes are underway and we must act if we do not want to live in a world order that we cannot stop shaping”, said the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union (EU), in an entry posted on his blog on Sunday.

In the text, the Spanish diplomat points to two major trends: a “reinforced reaction to the rise of China”, manifested in the recent tripartite agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as a further enlargement of “Actors like Russia” who act to the detriment of the values ​​and interests of the EU “, as seen in Syria, Libya, Mali and elsewhere.

For all this, Borrell advises that “Europeans run the risk of becoming more and more an object and not an actor in international affairs, reacting to the decisions of others, rather than directing and shaping events ourselves.”

Thus, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy asks member countries of the bloc to avoid “the usual tendency to have an abstract and frankly confrontational debate on the advisability of strengthening Europe’s own security capacities or to do so within NATO ”.

“Clearly we have to do both.”Borrell said, before defending the plan known as the Strategic Compass, conceived as a new approach to defense and security over the next decade.

“The leaders instructed me to present a first draft in November and I pleaded for a strong level of ambition,” he added in his text.

“The debate on the global role of Europe has reached a critical stage (…) In the coming months, we have the opportunity to translate into action the fact that Europe cannot afford to be a spectator. The world is not waiting for us, ”concluded the Spanish diplomat.

These reflections from Borrell come days after NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that his organization had withdrawn the accreditation of eight Russian officials from the military alliance in response to an increase in “evil activities” in Moscow.

The eight will be denied access to NATO headquarters in Brussels from the end of the month because the alliance believes they worked as intelligence agents. NATO has also reduced the number of positions Russia can accredit from 20 to 10.

“This decision is unrelated to any particular event, but we have been seeing an increase in Russian malignancy for some time and so we need to be vigilant,” Stoltenberg said.

“NATO-Russia relations are at their lowest since the end of the Cold War. This is due to Russian behavior. We have seen their aggressive actions, especially against Ukraine, as well as the considerable military build-up and violations of important arms agreements, ”he added.

The Norwegian official warned of the “implications” that an increasingly “assertive” China and a more “aggressive” Russia have for Alliance security.

“We are facing growing strategic competition, a rise in authoritarianism and widespread instability, driven by more aggressive Russian behavior and an increasingly assertive China,” Stoltenberg said at the opening of a North Atlantic Council meeting with advisers from member countries.

According to the NATO Secretary General, “These trends have important implications for our security, our democracies and our way of life.”

“And they can only be tackled successfully if we work together,” he stressed.

“I think we have to realize that the relationship between the transatlantic family and Russia is at its lowest since the end of the cold war,” he said at a conference at Georgetown University in Washington. .

With information from Europa Press, EFE and AP

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