Doing Without the Americans? The New European Rapid Reaction Force and Nato
Doing Without the Americans? The New European Rapid Reaction Force and Nato

Summary/Abstract: The recent decision of the European Union to create a Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) has raised important questions with regard to the Union’s future relationship with NATO and the United States in particular. The RRF appears at first sight to add a significant new dimension to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) developed by the EU since the Maastricht agreement in 1991. The 60,000 strong military force, drawn from the armed forces of the member states and intended to be operational by 2003, promises to add real muscle to the CFSP by being able to carry out peacekeeping operations, crisis management and humanitarian operations. However, the creation of the RRF has already led to a considerable amount of political controversy among the parliaments, media and public of Western Europe. The fact that the actual geographical sphere of operations for the ‘Euroforce’ has been left deliberately vague is understandable given the difficulties in getting all of ‘the Fifteen’ to agree on this issue. It is the attitude of the United States, and the RRF’s relationship with NATO, that is the most significant issue for most of those who oppose the policy of adding a military dimension to the EU’s international profile.

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