Senior Policy Fellow
International relations; international security policy; European security and defence policy; military capabilities development; defence equipment cooperation; research and industry; Middle East and North Africa; the Middle East Peace Process
English, French, Arabic
Nick Witney is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His topics of focus range from the European Security and Defence Policy to the Middle East Peace Process.
Witney previously served as the first chief executive of the European Defence Agency in Brussels. High Representative Javier Solana chose him in January 2004 to lead the project team charged with developing the concept and blueprint for the agency. The European Council approved the team’s proposals in July 2004, an achievement recognised by European Voice in nominating Witney as one of its 50 “Europeans of the Year”. After that, he was appointed to establish and run the agency for its first three years.
Witney’s early career, after reading Classics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, was spent in British government service, first with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and later with the Ministry of Defence (MOD). As a diplomat, he learned Arabic in Lebanon and Jordan, served in Baghdad, and spent four years as private secretary to the British ambassador in Washington, D.C.
Working with the MOD, Witney took on a wide range of responsibilities, including planning and finance, defence exports (the al-Yamamah programme with Saudi Arabia), nuclear policy, the defence estate (running the privatisation of the MOD’s married quarters housing stock), the new Labour government’s 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the forward Equipment Programme, and defence industrial policy. His last job before leaving for Brussels was as the MOD’s director-general of International Security Policy, where he was responsible for NATO and EU policy as well as missile defence.
If there was ever a moment for defence ministers to pool their efforts and resources, then this is it. Defence budgets across the continent are being severely cut as austerity measures kick in. Ahead of the defence ministers’ meeting in Ghent on 23-24 September, Nick Witney points out that the Lisbon Treaty offers defence ministers a ready-made ‘transnational defence cooperation’ device in the form of PESCO – and urges them to use it
Tight budgets mean hard choices. For instance, new aircraft carriers would be lovely but they cost a lot. As the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review reaches its final stages, Nick Witney argues that perhaps it’s time to start sharing with the French
What is defence really for and what should Europe do after defence budgets have been ravaged by the economic crisis? In the second of a two part series of podcasts, Daniel Korski talks to Nick Witney about how European security will have to be rethought from the ground up after the economic crisis – and how the best option might be to become a spikey, hedgehog-like larger version of Switzerland
Tomorrow night?s foreign policy Leaders? Debate will cover a lot of ground, and Trident will no doubt be discussed. Nick Witney argues that a post-election defence review that does not include Trident is irresponsible and absurd
Obama’s moves over nuclear weapons need putting in context. The US no longer needs them to equalise the USSR’s conventional forces, but others might need nuclear weapons to equalise the US military
Britain’s defence review must take on board how much the world has changed since the late 1900s and focus on preserving Britain’s power and influence, both in and through Europe
Obama’s snub of the May EU-US summit is tough, but fair. If it wants to be taken seriously on the world stage, the EU must stop complaining and learn from this and other recent disappointments
After nearly a decade of effort, the Lisbon Treaty is finally in place ? and Europeans finally have the chance to develop the unified voice and combined weight in the world that we all now understand to be necessary. Yet Europe?s national leaders seem unable to curb the sort of self-indulgent behaviour that will sabotage this historic opportunity
Europe’s southern and eastern border give cause for significant concern. It needs to wake up to where its real security interests lie
Europeans must steel themselves to discuss, within the EU, the big issues on which Europe must engage the US
The UK government’s vision for Global Britain does not reflect today’s geostrategic realities. Yet the UK can forge an effective foreign policy if it focuses on British strengths, avoids military adventures in distant lands, and finds balanced, effective working relationships with the EU and the US
To hedge against US disengagement without precipitating it, Europeans should converge on “taking a greater share of the burden of defending Europe”
The context Now is not the moment for either the European Union or the United Kingdom to risk allowing the political tensions around Brexit to…
A British exit from the EU would make it harder to fight crime and terrorism, reduce Britain’s ability to lead and influence its partners, and weaken NATO
The sixth ECFR Foreign Policy Scorecard highlights the EU’s diminishing ability to influence its neighbours, and the neighbourhood’s growing impact on the EU
Following France’s call for European solidarity under Article 42.7, European states should rekindle defence cooperation and aid France’s deployments in Africa
British exit from the EU would have serious foreign policy consequences – both for Britain and for the rest of Europe
The EU needs an honest assessment of its capabilities and to set limited goals behind which member states can show sustainable unity
Europe’s European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) needs drastic reform to deal with a region characterised by conflict, counter-revolution, and extremism
The EU’s habit of outsourcing its military interventions is problematic for a multitude of reasons
Donald Trump presents a threat to European security. Now the UK and the EU need to pool their resources: and agreeing an EU-UK security and defence pact on 19th May will be the acid test
Donald Trump’s second presidency has got off to a shocking start. Europeans leaders need to drop the “unpredictability” façade and double down on support for Ukraine
The European Commission has big ambitions for European defence. But getting EU member states to cooperate will be crucial and call for unaccustomed diplomacy on the commission’s part
In a transformed geostrategic environment, Britain’s upcoming Strategic Defence Review must redefine the type of armed forces the country needs – while confronting the defence budget’s chronic wastefulness
As Keir Starmer assumes office, myriad international questions will land on his desk – but don’t expect these to be his immediate focus
With the possibility of a second Trump presidency looming, it is high time to Europeanise NATO’s defence plans
There are three steps EU leaders must urgently take to prepare themselves for the enlargement process – starting by suspending Hungary’s voting rights
A new UK Labour government should move quickly to agree fresh ambitions with EU partners on defence industry collaboration and consolidation
Europeans should look to the success of the automotive sector for inspiration on uniting their defence efforts across the whole continent
Rishi Sunak has reintroduced sensible pragmatism to British foreign policy – but the nature of today’s Tory party means he is not out of the woods yet
Europeans remain unwilling to renew their thinking on nuclear deterrence, despite growing strategic instability. Their stated goal of “strategic autonomy” will remain an empty phrase until they engage seriously on this matter
In this seventh episode of our mini-series , Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison talk to Nick Witney and Camille Grand about the potential for a great reset in UK-EU relations, especially regarding cooperation on defence
Mark Leonard is joined by Nick Witney, Jana Puglierin, and Tara Varma, to evaluate the outcomes of the NATO Summit in Madrid, especially regarding European defence
What are the biggest challenges in building greater European sovereignty in defence? And how will this effort be funded?
Mark Leonard launches ECFR’s special summer series on European sovereignty with a discussion of the continent’s security and defence policy. He is joined by Nick…
Mark Leonard speaks with Tomas Valasek and Nick Witney about what the real military dependence of Europeans on America looks like and what is possible…
Mark Leonard talks to the all star cast of Nick Whitney, Ulrike Franke and Jeremy Shapiro on the topic of European strategic culture
ECFR Policy Fellow Ulrike Franke speaks with Mark Leonard, former MP Douglas Alexander, and ECFR’s Senior Policy Fellow Nick Witney, about Britain’s future vision of…
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses the launch of PESCO, the latest collective European defence initiative with ECFR Senior Policy Fellow Nick Witney and Policy Fellow,…
Nouveau podcast de notre série sur les présidentielles de 2017 ayant pour objectif de traiter les thèmes d'actualité et de contribuer au débat dans la perspective…
Mark Leonard speaks with former Director of the European Defence Agency Nick Witney, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Ulrike Esther Franke about European defence in the…
Nick Witney on Trump’s plan to move palestinians out of gaza
The period when we were happy to entirely empty the shelves of our storehouses and send it all to Ukraine, I think maybe is coming to an end
Nick Witney on Europe’s defence
Nick Witney on the need for Europe to become independent of the US in its security strategy
Nick Witney on Trump’s foreign policy
Everyone agrees that [defence] integration is essential, but everyone wants someone else to go first
Nick Witney on EU’s defence capabilities
