Languages: English, French, Arabic
Areas of Expertise: International relations, International Security Policy, the European Security and Defence Policy, military capabilities development, defence equipment cooperation, research and industry, the Middle East and North Africa, the Middle East Peace Process
Nick Witney is a senior policy fellow at ECFR.
He previously served as the first chief executive of the European Defence Agency in Brussels. High Representative Javier Solana chose Nick 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 Nick 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.
Nick’s earlier 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, Nick 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.
Nick Witney - 23 June 2017
It is time for Europe’s defence pioneers to move on out
Nick Witney - 26 May 2017
It is beginning to look as though the concept of ring-fencing or reserving a portion of national budgets to be spent collaboratively might finally get airborne.
Nick Witney - 21 March 2017
Britain’s departure from the EU may make the case for its nuclear deterrent replacement harder to sustain.
Nick Witney - 13 February 2017
As the Trump administration amplifies its attacks on the European Union and its collective identity, we would do well to recall the lessons of the 1930s.
by Susi Dennison , Mark Leonard, Nick Witney - 16th May, 2016
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
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by Dennison et al. - 28th January, 2016
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.
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by Nick Witney - 05th November, 2015
British exit from the EU would have serious foreign policy consequences – both for Britain and for the rest of Europe
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by Susi Dennison , François Godement, Richard Gowan, Daniel Levy, Kadri Liik , Jeremy Shapiro , Nick Witney - 09th July, 2015
The EU needs an honest assessment of its capabilities and to set limited goals behind which member states can show sustainable unity
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by Susi Dennison , Nick Witney - 23rd June, 2015
Europe’s European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) needs drastic reform to deal with a region characterised by conflict, counter-revolution, and extremism
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Nick Witney - 26 May 2017
It is beginning to look as though the concept of ring-fencing or reserving a portion of national budgets to be spent collaboratively might finally get airborne.
Nick Witney - 21 March 2017
Britain’s departure from the EU may make the case for its nuclear deterrent replacement harder to sustain.
Nick Witney - 13 February 2017
As the Trump administration amplifies its attacks on the European Union and its collective identity, we would do well to recall the lessons of the 1930s.
Nick Witney - 16 December 2016
Negotiations seldom go well if you do not understand where the other side is coming from.
Nick Witney - 20 October 2016
A joint European defence budget won’t happen, but smaller steps in the direction of pooling European defence resources could and should be taken.
Nick Witney - 14 September 2016
There are plenty of ways Europe can improve defence co-ordination – if its leaders truly want to move down this path. The determining factor will be political will in national capitals.
Nick Witney - 14 July 2016
In the absence of a comprehensive framework for post-Brexit defence cooperation between the UK and EU 27, the forgotten Letter of Intent agreement could provide a useful stop-gap.
Nick Witney - 29 June 2016
“Out” is not a long word, or a difficult concept. But, as the post-referendum turmoil continues, many Brits are having obvious difficulty getting their heads around it.
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 des élections du printemps prochain.
Entretien de Nick Witney, Senior Policy Fellow à l'ECFR, par Tara Varma, coordinatrice des activités du bureau de Paris de l'ECFR, sur l'avenir de la défense européenne.
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 context of Brexit, increasing defence budgets and proposals for a Schengen of Defence. The podcast was recorded on 29 September 2016
Bookshelf
War Stories From the Future by the Atlantic Council’s Art of Future Warfare Project
Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World by Roger Crowley
Who are Refugees and Migrants? What Makes People Leave Their Homes? and Other Big Questions by Michael Rosen & Annemarie Young
On 23 June, the British public will vote on the future of Britain in the EU. Security issues have already featured prominently in the debate. We brought together five distinguished former practitioners from the military, police, intelligence and diplomatic services – all with recent top-level, operational, responsibilities, and all now with the independence to 'tell it how it is'. Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Dymock, Simon Foy, Nigel Inkster, Baroness Pauline Neville Jones, and ECFR's Nick Witney discuss what a British exit from the EU would mean for Britain's security.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Dymock, former UK Military Representative to NATO and the EU, Simon Foy, former head of the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Serious Crimes Command, Nigel Inkster, former board member of MI6, Baroness Pauline Neville Jones, former Security Minister, and Nick Witney, former chief executive of European Defence Agency and ECFR senior policy fellow, about what a British exit from the EU would mean for Britain's security.
The drawbridge fallacy by Mark Leonard
Brexit to nowhere: The foreign policy consequences of “Out” by Nick Witney
You can find an audio recording of the recent event Brexit and Britain’s Security: The Operational Perspective here.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, Head of ECFR's Paris office, Anthony Dworkin, Senior Policy Fellow, and Nick Witney, co-director of ECFR's European Power programme, about the Brussels terror attacks and its implications on European security and unity.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor of the Times, and to Nick Witney and Susi Dennison, Co-Directors of ECFR's European Power programme, about the current state of the debate on the British membership of the European Union.
Conférence du mercredi 10 février 2016 à l'ENS portant sur la défense européenne et les problématiques de sécurité qui touchent l'Union Européenne actuellement. Avec Nick Witney, Senior Policy Fellow à l'ECFR et coordinateur du programme European Power, et Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, directeur du bureau de l'ECFR Paris.
Former EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Dr Javier Solana, ECFR's Senior Policy Fellow, Nick Witney, and Advisor to the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Hilmar Linnenkamp, discuss the need for more union in European defence.
Nick Witney is quoted on the need for Europe to improve its military capabilities and efficiency.
Deutsche Welle quotes Nick Witney on the debate about nuclear weapons for the EU.
Nick Witney quoted on the European concerns about Trump's NATO policy.
Nick Witney on EU military spendings following Trump's election.
Nick Witney on what consequences Britain staying in the EU would have on EU defence.
Increasing air strikes on ISIS in Syria as the UK, Germany and France are going to do is counterproductive. It is not up to us to win this war. The EU should tackle the main roots of the refugee crisis in Africa, where efficiency is assured.
Email: nick.witney@ecfr.eu
Mob: +44 (0)75 0316 6740