Since the Helsinki Headline goals of 1999 the European Union has been trying to increase its military capability to conduct military operations abroad. The EU led operation Artemis in the Congo inspired the creation of the Battlegroup concept. The concept is intended to conduct military operations up to a distance of 6000 km from Brussels at short notice. The development of the Battlegroup differs between different member states, which have chosen different organisations. Bigger nations have better possibilities to contribute to the Battlegroup. Research indicates some nations prioritise the military aspect of the Battlegroup and other nations focus on the integration effect of cooperation. The new security challenges after the Cold War require new solutions by the old militaries and an answer to this problem is closer cooperation between European states.
The purpose of this thesis is to compare Sweden´s and Austria´s contributions to realising the European Battlegroup Concept. These two countries represent two similar countries in regards to size and historic traditions and research surrounding these two countries has not been conducted earlier.
The conclusion of the thesis shows big contributions from both countries since the start of the Battlegroup Concept in 2007. Austria began contributing to the Battlegroup later, but has developed its contribution during recent years. Sweden contributed early on to the development of the Battlegroup concept as a Framework Nation to the Nordic Battlegroup. Because of early work and bigger contributions Sweden has contributed more to realise the European Battlegroup Concept.
Erasmus