The concept of strategic sovereignty goes far beyond the issues of security and defence. It also assumes relative self-sufficiency, and the ability to impose one’ standards and to create global leaders in tomorrow’s ecosystems. This political objective must be founded on economic reality and will first require new investment momentum in Europe.
The issue of European strategic sovereignty has been thrust back into the centre of public debate by the public health crisis. And as France assumes the rotating presidency of the European Union, President Emmanuel Macron has once again made it a political issue. And yet, it is a hard concept to grasp, as it takes in several realities and goes well beyond the issues of security and defence. Strategic sovereignty is understood to be the possibility of broadening the range of what is possible while remaining consistent with one’s own objectives; and the European Union is still far from achieving that.