Europe divides U.K., U.S.(the Digest: Summaries of important new research)

Richard North, "The Wrong Side of the Hill: The Secret Realignment of U.K. Defense Policy with the E.U." Centre for Policy Studies, October 2005 (cps.org.uk)

While moves to unify Europe politically have eased the transfer of goods and services across borders, it's wreaking havoc on the ability of British and American militaries to cooperate in the field. Analyst Richard North believes that Britain's new military relationship with the E.U."will make it increasingly hard for the U.K. either to fight independently or to cooperate militarily with the U.S. The 'special relationship,' which has been the cornerstone of British defense policy from the time of the Second World War, will be at an end."

The British public, he argues, has been kept in the dark about this. The current government insists that the new military relationship with the E.U. does not prejudice continued participation in NATO. But there is reason to doubt this.

North says the key problem is procurement policy in an era of electronic warfare. Technical incompatibilities make it more and more difficult for forces working under different systems to fight alongside one other. Yet Britain's Ministry of Defense is turning its back on joint defense projects with the U.S. in order to purchase systems supplied or developed by firms in France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.

The E.U., for instance, is developing an alternative to the GPS/Navstar satellite system on which NATO currently ...