03 March 2021
The European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) announced by the United States (U.S) in 2014, reflects changes in the international security environment. It aims to help Eastern European allies deter Russia from further incursion into Europe following its annexation —in violation of international law— of Crimea from Ukraine and its continued military activity in the region.
Ever since, the U.S. has maintained close cooperation with NATO and Europe, enhancing its security and defence cooperation and boosting the number of U.S. armed forces in Europe (Breedlove, 2018). The U.S. has increased support for the collective defence and security of NATO allies and bolstered the security and capacity of U.S. allies and partners to address specific operational challenges vis-à-vis Russia. Thus, the EDI aims to reassure NATO allies by funding a rotational military presence and improving allied capabilities and readiness at sea, land, and air.
In 2014, the NATO Wales Summit was held in response to Russia’s activities in Ukraine, the disturbances in the Middle East (NATO, 2016) and the continuous violation of international law. As a result, the Alliance adopted the Readiness Action Plan (RAP), which called for the creation of a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) to increase the Alliance’s capacity to reinforce any ally under threat. Following this line, the EDI aimed for collaborative armed forces joint training, military exercises, and capability development to build a strong deterrence posture, engaging in a long-term Euro-American commitment. Some of the goals this initiative pursues encompass:
- Reinforcement of NATO cohesion.
- Promote stability with respect to Russian military deployments.
- Increase additional ground force deployments.
- Promote training and operational readiness of U.S. deployed forces.
- Promotion of interoperability with host-nation and other allied forces
Regarding ground forces implementation and enhancement, the EDI targets five domains:
- Increased presence of air, land, and sea forces throughout Europe, ensuring the United States’ firm commitment to NATO and the defence of European Allies.
- Exercises and training to boost the interoperability of U.S. forces across all domains, between NATO Allies and partners, in both physical and political environments.
- Enhanced prepositioning of equipment and material across all classes of supply, such as the Army Prepositioned Stock (APS), while also increasing the number of prepositioned munitions in theatre, i.e., Patriot missiles.
- Improved infrastructure and facilities throughout the European theatre to support regional military readiness and capabilities, as well as access to robust infrastructure at key locations essential to support military activities and operations.
- Building the capacity of European Allies and partners by improving their ability to defend themselves in time of crisis instead of U.S. forces and the interoperability of host nation and U.S. forces both in peacetime and in times of conflict and by enabling their full participation as operational partners in responding to crises in the region.
However, from the creation of the EDI, a budget has always been necessary to achieve these goals until the present. As the study EDI Budget FY2015-FY2021 Under Secretary of Defense shows, the budget has constantly changed. It began the fiscal year (FY) of 2015 with $985 million in funding. Between 2016 and 2019, there was an annual increase, peaking at $6.5 billion in FY2019, slightly reduced in 2020 to $5.91 billion. It has been noted that “EDI funds have also improved our ability to respond using prepositioned stocks and improved theatre infrastructure”, which has enabled “the rapid deployment and sustainment of forces”. For example, the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) have already completed $10.8 million worth of improvements to Estonia’s Ämari Air Base in July through the EDI (U.S. Embassy Tallin, 2020). They have deployed short-range air-defence units and rocket-artillery units to Poland on a rotational basis.
Hence, the EDI creation has served to underline the seriousness of U.S. commitments towards Europe and enables the U.S. to maintain and live up to those commitments. It is also firm in promoting military cooperation in Europe, especially Eastern Europe and NATO, allowing policymakers to circumvent budget limitations to increase the resources dedicated to Europe’s defence. Legally speaking, the progressive incursion and implementations of U.S. forces in Europe and the assistance provided to other countries and allies are done with respect for international law.
Finally, considering future expectations for this programme, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) stressed the main goal regarding Europe/Russia. Its objectives based on deterrence against Russia will be providing $250 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and additional funding for “strategic sealift, satellite communications, refuelling, submarine, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities” (House Armed Services Committee, 2020). Besides, it aims to extend the prohibition on funding any activity that recognises Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea, military cooperation with Russia, as well as limiting military cooperation with Russia.
Written by Candela FERNANDEZ GIL-DELGADO, Legal Researcher at Finabel – European Army Interoperability Centre
Sources
Bartels F. & Kochis D. (2018), Congress Should Transform the European Deterrence Initiative into an Enduring Commitment, The Heritage Foundation. Available at https://www.heritage.org/europe/report/congress-should-transform-the-european-deterrence-initiative-enduring-commitment
Breedlove P., & Vershbow A. (2018), Permanent Deterrence: Enhancements to the US Military Presence in North Central Europe, The Scowcroft Center for Strategy. Available at https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Permanent-Deterrence-Enhancements-to-the-US-Military-Presence-in-North-Central-Europe.pdf
Department of Defense Budget (2020), European Deterrence Initiative, Department of Defense
House Armed Service Committee Staff (2020), Summary of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. Available at https://armedservices.house.gov/_cache/files/4/c/4c91c1c0-d977-46bb-9a4b-3c0d4775ffbb/546820DB78FA2323E6833ED24BF23412.fy21-ndaa-chairman-s-mark-summary-vfinal.pdf
NATO (2016), Warsaw Summit Communiqué. Available at https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_133169.htm
Lațici T. (2018), European Deterrence Initiative: the transatlantic security guarantee, European Parliament Research Service, PE 625-117. Available at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/625117/EPRS_BRI(2018)625117_EN.pdf
United States Senate (2020), Statement of General Tod D. Wolters, United States Force Commander, European Command. Available at https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Wolters_02-25-20.pdf
Wintrich K. (2018), Europe District delivers first European Deterrence Initiative project in Estonia, USA CE Europe District. Available at https://www.nad.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/1716309/europe-district-delivers-first-european-deterrence-initiative-project-in-estonia/
