The European Union has identified major shortfalls in its military capabilities and readiness.
Releasing its first annual assessment of the political bloc’s defense forces, foreign affairs minister Josep Borrell observed that “the EU does not have all the required military capabilities available in order to fulfill (its) level of ambition. European defense suffers from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement.” This is a pretty generous assessment. I would suggest Borrell would have been more accurate in saying, “The EU lacks many of the required military capabilities in order to fulfill (its) level of ambition. European defense suffers from fragmentation, duplication, insufficient operational engagement, and a fundamental divorce between investments and aspirations.”
