German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen talks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 16, 2018. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle Reuters
US News and World Report/Reuters: Let's Work Together on Defense, France and Germany Tell Europe
MUNICH (Reuters) - The defense ministers of Germany and France pledged to redouble their military and foreign policy cooperation efforts on Friday, inviting other European countries to participate if they felt ready to do so.
In a speech to the Munich Security Conference, German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen said Europe's countries would not be able to respond nimbly enough to global challenges if they were stymied by the need to decide joint foreign policy approaches unanimously.
"Europe has to up its pace in the face of global challenges from terrorism, poverty and climate change," she said. "Those who want to must be able to advance without being blocked by individual countries."
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WNU Editor: This push for a EU Army has been around for a long time. The reason why it has failed .... and will continue to fail .... is that countries like Germany are not willing to put serious money in establishing it, and the smaller countries do not trust Berlin and Paris will make them a priority in such a pact .... especially the countries that share a border with Russia.
More News On France And Germany Pushing for The Establishment Of An EU Army
Defying US, Paris and Berlin stand firm on EU defence pact -- Channel News Asia/AFP
Germany and France lead calls for greater EU unity on defence -- Independent.ie
Exclusive: Germany’s defence minister says EU defence pact will complement NATO -- France 24
4 comments:
I know exactly how to get Europeans moving on defense. Withdraw from NATO, push for the complete end of NATO, and each country sign deals with each other based upin the individual needs of each of these countries. The US is no longer in a position to be able to underwrite all of this. We have our own needs such as care for an aging baby boomer population, massive upgrades to infrastructure, care for the men and wonen and their families who have been maimed and killed in endless and fruitless foregin interventions, and a proper deployment of our forces to ensure the best possible defense of our homeland.
As for the countries bordering Russia, they are right to be concerned. A German or French is generally not to be trusted. They should focus on agreements among themselves for defense. As for America, part of the agreement to end Cold War 1 likely included an agreement not to expand NATO to these regions. In any event, nothing is gained by it and much is risked by these deployments. By changing course nothing is lost combined with huge potential upside.
European army will just never happens and for at least one reason: France don't want to share its nuclear power.
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