Media: the EU is unhappy with von der Leyen's new security initiatives

A number of EU countries express dissatisfaction with the new initiatives of the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in the security field, believing that they can duplicate the functions of NATO and the already existing mechanisms of the EU itself, Politico reports, citing European diplomats.

"This threatens great confusion for decision-makers at all levels. If there is confusion or duplication, it can slow down decision-making, which has consequences because time is always of the essence," former NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told the publication.

In particular, we are talking about the new emergency security protocol proposed by von der Leyen, which should coordinate the actions of EU countries in the event of a serious crisis. Together with another initiative by the head of the EC to create a "European Security Council", it is expected to be included in the new European Security Strategy, which is scheduled to be presented in early November and which is already causing discontent in European capitals.

Representatives of a number of EU countries consider the creation of new mechanisms unnecessary and propose using existing structures.

"We are very concerned about the emergency security protocol. We already have mechanisms in place. If there is a crisis, we have the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) mechanism, which has worked very well during the pandemic and other crises," a senior EU diplomat told Politico.