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.
by Findings of a reflection group led by Marta Dassù, Wolfgang Ischinger, Pierre Vimont, and Robert Cooper. Edited by Susi Dennison - 20th March, 2018
Nick Witney - 27 February 2018
A Brexit outcome where no-one wins (and everyone loses)
Nick Witney - 01 February 2018
Nick Witney - 19 December 2017
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 EU-UK security cooperation after Brexit. The podcast was recorded on 13.12.2017 in Berlin.
Bookshelf:
The Shardlake Series by C. J. Sampson
Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey
Lecture on David Cameron’s relationship with the EU by Sir Ivan Rogers
by Findings of a reflection group led by Marta Dassù, Wolfgang Ischinger, Pierre Vimont, and Robert Cooper. Edited by Susi Dennison - 20th March, 2018
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
PDF
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.
PDF
EPUB
Mobi
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
PDF
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
PDF
EPUB
Mobi
Nick Witney - 27 February 2018
A Brexit outcome where no-one wins (and everyone loses)
Nick Witney - 01 February 2018
Nick Witney - 15 November 2017
PESCO’s commitments have been watered down so as to become virtually meaningless.
Nick Witney - 14 November 2017
Europe must help May sugar-coat the very bitter pills the Brits are going to have to swallow.
Nick Witney - 20 September 2017
If she does not, the Johnson sabotage effort will have succeeded, and the outlook for the negotiations and the country’s future will be grim indeed.
Nick Witney - 30 August 2017
What do we know about Brexit?
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.
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 EU-UK security cooperation after Brexit. The podcast was recorded on 13.12.2017 in Berlin.
Bookshelf:
The Shardlake Series by C. J. Sampson
Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey
Lecture on David Cameron’s relationship with the EU by Sir Ivan Rogers
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, Ulrike Franke.
The podcast was recorded on 24th November 2017.
Bookshelf:
George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia
Peter Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire
Nick Witney, Re-energising Europe's Security and Defence Policy
Nick Witney, EU defence efforts miss the open goal again
ECFR, New Security Initiative essay collection
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.
Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Nick Witney are quoted by Deutsche Welle on the french and british foreign policy in Syria.
Nick Witney is quoted by Reuters from his recent article on PESCO, in which he says it will create more bureaucracy.
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.
Email: nick.witney@ecfr.eu
Mob: +44 (0)75 0316 6740