Shaky Funding Puts European Initiative at Risk.

AuthorMachi, Vivienne
PositionGlobal Defense

A Pentagon initiative that enhances key defense and security capabilities between the United States and its European allies could be at risk due to uncertain funding, according to a recent report.

The Defense Department's Inspector General in August issued a report titled, "Evaluation of the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI)." It examined the sustainability of the effort, which was developed during the Obama administration to increase interoperability and capacity between U.S. European Command and its Operation Atlantic Resolve partners, which seek to deter Russian aggression. Those countries include Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

For the past three years, lawmakers have used overseas contingency operations funds for the initiative, with increases from $789 million in fiscal year 2015 to a requested $4.8 billion for 2018.

That money is allocated on a yearly cycle, unlike other Pentagon program budgets, which are planned on a five-year timeline. The lack of multiyear predictability could negatively impact the U.S. and European allies' strategy, according to the report.

"As a result, USEUCOM and OAR countries may be unable to sustain [the] ERI's contribution to allied and partner military capabilities," the report said.

Planned personnel reductions as well as transportation and infrastructure challenges contribute to the risks faced by the initiative, it added.

The report recommended that the office of the deputy secretary of defense develop options for changes to the initiative's budget cycle "to better align with and support allied and partner-nation training and capacity-building activities." The commander of EUCOM should also consider ways to assess the impact of funding on exercises and training, infrastructure improvement and activities that support building allied and partner capacity, it said.

Tom Karako, a senior fellow with the international security program at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the inspector general's report appears to...

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