2. The Pre- and Post-Brexit Evolution of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy

The second half of 2016 saw several initiatives by the EU in security and defence. These were based on the June 2016 adoption by the EU of a Global Strategy, in which security and defence were to the fore. The background to the 2016 initiatives cannot be laid at the doorstep of Brexit, but more as a result of a series of changes in global security and, more specifically, to the Union’s east and south. Nevertheless, the confluence of doubts about the reliability of U.S. security guarantees, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and its subsequent meddling in east Ukraine, alongside the emergence of IS to the south, sharpened the political rationale for cooperation at the European level on security and defence. The UK’s historical role in this regard had been instrumental, but occasionally obstructive. The prospect of the removal of the British foot from the brake has accelerated the pace of planning at the European political level to work towards an eventual European Defence Union. There are many challenges, not the least of them being the translation of grand political ambitions into political will and actual capabilities, but the conceptual gulf that has opened between the EU capitals and London is nevertheless appreciable.