German Chancellor Angela Merkel supported the idea of creating a “real, true” European Union army, as geopolitical alliances are redrawing all over the world.
Merkel spoke with the MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday (November 13th) to support French President Emmanuel Macron’s call last week for the creation of European army and to counter US President Donald Trump, who announced on Twitter that the idea is “offensive”.
The German Chancellor, who has already announced that this is her last mandate, also called for the establishment of a European Security Council with a rotating presidency from each EU Member State, “where decisions can be taken more quickly”.
“The time that we were able to count on others, is past. We must take our fate in our own hands if we want to protect our community,” Merkel told the European Parliament.
She also said that EU countries need to coordinate more their foreign policy and remain united in the world.
The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said in September that the EU executive body will propose new rules, which will shape certain foreign policy issues through majority decisions and not unanimity between Member States in order to avoid EU countries from blocking common positions.
Merkel called for an EU Rapid Reaction Forces which will become a real army, which will be an “addition” to NATO, the military union, in which most EU member states are involved together with the US and Canada.
“What is really important, if we look at what happened last year, is that we must work on a vision to create a true European army,” Merkel said against the backdrop of turbulent applause.
During the weekend, Merkel, Macron, Trump and other world leaders celebrated the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War in Paris.
Indeed, such a new body will give the necessary flexibility and rapid response compared to the current cumbersome procedures of the EU. However, Merkel’s speeches can easily come under the formula “too little and too late”.
Merkel, which has been German Chancellor since 2005 and over a decade, has been pointed as the driving force behind many of the EU policies, chooses to make such speech at a time when she is about to leave power.
In this respect, the messages are rather wishful thinking than real decisions leading to actions and the next European Parliament, which will be formed in spring 2019, will have the final vote on such developments in the area of the Union’s CSDP.
