• Insight by Tomas Valasek, 24 August 2011

    For decades, European countries cut defence budgets with little worry. The United States kept enough troops on the continent to deter all potential enemies, almost irrespective of how small European militaries became.

  • Bulletin article by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 01 August 2011

    When it comes to defence, the United Kingdom is giving up on the EU. For most Britons, the war in Libya has confirmed that the majority of European countries are simply not serious about defence.

  • Essay by Tomas Valasek, 29 July 2011

    Libya is the first war fought according to Barack Obama's rules, with the United States taking a back seat. The Europeans responded well: by taking decisive military action to maintain the stability of their neighbourhood.

  • TGAE report, Report by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 03 June 2011

    Over the last year, renewed defence spending cuts in many EU member-states have increased the need for closer EU defence co-operation. European governments have long acknowledged that significant savings could be gained through more common procurement in defence, joint logistics and common ownership of the most expensive military capabilities.

  • Insight by Tomas Valasek, 01 June 2011

    How do you do more with less? The EU defence ministers agreed last week that the way to limit the impact of the economic crisis on their defence budgets lies in more co-operation.

  • Opinion piece by Tomas Valasek
    Defence Management Journal, 26 April 2011

    Despite all the cuts to defence budgets, Europe's militaries are not doing enough pooling and sharing of equipment and personnel; that is the opinion of Thomas Valasek, author of "Surviving Austerity - The Case for a New Approach to EU Military Collaboration".

  • Report by Tomas Valasek, 22 April 2011

    A wave of budgetary austerity is weakening Europe’s defences. The armed forces of Europe will lose important skills and capabilities unless they can find ways of saving money through collaboration. Tomas Valasek examines previous efforts at pooling and sharing, and explains why some succeeded better than others.

  • Bulletin article by Charles Grant, 01 April 2011

    A union of 27 member-states is large and unwieldy. So it is not surprising that sub-groups - formal and informal- are playing a bigger role in managing what the EU does. The Euro Group is emerging as an important institution in its own right, with its own summits.