WIREDGOV

EU leaders are pushing capability coalitions. The next question is who is responsible when the capability does not materialise.

Coalitions Create an Accountability Problem

At its October meeting, the European Council urged member states to step up capability coalitions and joint defence projects. That is the right direction. Europe cannot wait for a single federal defence structure before acting.

Europe’s defence capacity is inevitably fragmented. A military operation may depend on a French port, a German railway, a Polish electricity network, privately operated telecommunications and capabilities supplied by countries outside the EU.

They do not need a common owner. But somebody must be responsible for whether the system works when it is needed.

Defence remains largely national. Ports, railways, electricity networks, airports, telecommunications, industrial sites and logistics facilities sit under different owners, regulators and levels of government. The UK and Norway are outside the EU, while NATO includes the US. No institution owns the complete system.

Common capacity therefore cannot depend on common ownership. What matters is whether the different components can produce the required effect, at the required time and for the required duration.

Military capability already works this way. Maritime capacity is a system of ships, surveillance, weapons, crews, ammunition, maintenance, communications, infrastructure, intelligence and logistics. Possessing the components somewhere is of little use if they cannot operate together when required.

The same logic should apply across borders.

Europe is unlikely to create a single institution responsible for every strategic capability. Waiting for one risks making institutional perfection an excuse for inaction.

A more practical approach would start with a small group of willing countries and a limited number of capabilities: military mobility, logistics, air and missile defence, surveillance, communications, industrial sustainment or energy resilience.

A more balanced transatlantic alliance requires European countries to understand what they can generate and sustain themselves, what they depend on others to provide and where those dependencies create unacceptable risk

For each capability, the starting point should be the result that countries need to produce.

What capacity already exists? Who controls it? Which critical components are nationally available, jointly provided or contractually assured? Which depend on an ally outside the group? Where are the bottlenecks, and who is responsible for closing them before a crisis?

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