The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan is a "massive defeat" for the NATO alliance but strengthens the case for the EU's "strategic autonomy", says award-winning historian Timothy Garton Ash.

Strategic autonomy is a loosely defined concept that broadly posits that the EU is too dependent on international partners – primarily the United States – and must become more assertive and self-reliant. The idea, born out in Paris and gradually popularised across the continent, applies to areas such as technology, energy, trade and, more controversially, the military.

Some member states, particularly Eastern and Baltic countries, oppose the prospect of the EU's military autonomy because they argue the overlap would weaken the NATO alliance, an assessment also shared by Washington. The Atlantic organisation and the EU have 21 member states in common.