It is reported that the EU's new rapid reaction force will hold its first joint exercise in the second half of 2023 when Spain serves as the union's rotating chair.
据报道，明年下半年，在西班牙担任欧盟轮值主席国期间，欧盟新的军事组织即所谓的快速反应部队将举行首次联合演习。
Why would the EU form a rapid reaction force? Why is a union that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 continuously beefing up its military capacity in recent years?
欧盟为何要组建快速反应部队？曾于2012年获得诺贝尔和平奖的欧盟近年来为什么不断朝着军事化方向发展？
According to military observer Shao Yongling, the EU has long wanted to go down the path of military development as its members hope to reverse their long-term dependence on the US and NATO in defense and build their own defense agencies and military forces. This was put forward as early as 1999, and there was an idea to form 13 rapid reaction units in 2007, but none of them have been implemented due to the lack of a sense of crisis and urgency and also of money.
对此，军事观察员邵永灵介绍，欧盟向军事化方向发展的意愿由来已久。欧盟国家希望改变在防务问题上长期依赖美国、北约的状态，想要建立自己的防务机构和军事力量。早在1999年，这个目标就被提出过，2007年又说要组建13个快速反应战斗小分队等，但因为缺少危机感、紧迫感以及开支问题，这些基本都没有落实。
America's abrupt withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan last year and the Russia-Ukraine conflict this year have made the EU realize that America is not a reliable protector and Europe has many problems to deal with, making the establishment of its own defense forces and realization of defense independence an urgent matter. In March 2022, the union decided to begin forming a rapid reaction force that will be fully in place by 2025.
去年美军突然撤离阿富汗以及今年的俄乌冲突，让欧盟意识到美国并不可靠，欧洲还有很多危机需要处理、解决，建立自己的防务力量、实现防务自主迫在眉睫。今年3月，欧盟决定启动快速反应部队建设，并在2025年前部署完毕。
According to Shao, the EU is currently not militarily capable enough to replace NATO, and its rapid reaction force can only serve as a supplement military unit to it.
邵永灵分析认为，就欧盟目前的军事能力而言，还无法取代北约在欧洲的地位作用，欧盟建立快速反应部队，只能作为北约的配属军事力量使用。
EU has made it clear that its security strategy is a supplement to NATO instead of being aimed to contend with the US for leadership in the organization. The union has made a point of aligning with NATO's relevant mechanisms when devising its own strategies and policies. For instance, it has proposed to strengthen the cooperation with NATO in cyber threat response mechanisms and agencies, and intensify the coordination between its rapid reaction force and related NATO forces.
欧盟明确表示，其安全战略是对北约的补充，而不是为了与美国领导的北约竞争。在相关战略和政策出台的过程中，欧盟非常注重和北约的有关机制进行对接。比如欧盟提出，要加强与北约在网络威胁应对机制和机构方面的合作，增强欧盟快速反应部队和北约相关部队之间的协调协作等。
Shao Yongling analyzed that, the US is happy to see the EU build low-level defense independence as long as that doesn't interfere with its domination in Europe's defense affairs. That will not only split the cost, but also serve America's need to maintain global hegemony. But at the same time, the US doesn't want to see the EU going too far down the road of defense independence because that will undercut NATO and shake America's domination in Europe.
邵永灵认为，在不撼动美国在欧洲防务主导地位的前提下，美国乐见欧盟开展低层次的自主防务建设，这样不仅可以分摊美国的霸权成本，还能服务于美国的霸权需求。当然，美国不希望欧盟在独立防务的道路上走得太远，那样会对北约产生冲击，影响美国在欧洲的主导地位。
The US will wield its clout to steer the EU's efforts at defense capacity reinforcement to better serve America's goals and needs, said Shao.
邵永灵认为，美国会施加一定的影响，让欧盟增强防务能力方面的建设，最终服务于美国的目标和需求。
Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
