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– EuroArmy...For Peace or
War?
German foreign minister favours EU
army
HONOR MAHONY
Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has indicated he
would like to see a European army established.
Speaking at a Social Democrat security policy conference in Berlin on
Monday (5 May), Mr Steinmeier said he favoured the setting up of a
"European armed force" and that he would like to see moves in this
direction speeded up.
Is a European army on the horizon?
German daily Tagespiegel reported Mr Steinmeier as referring to the fact
that the EU's new treaty, currently undergoing ratification across the
European Union, allows for the possibility of a group of member states
to "move ahead" in defence policy.
He noted that from Berlin's point of view, France is the key partner for
this. Mr Steinmeier said he had already spoken with his French
counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, on concrete steps to improve common areas
in the military field.
These include the areas of transport, helicopter capacity and
procurement.
The end result of a consolidation of military capacities must be a
European army, said Mr Steinmeier, according to German news agency DPA.
At the same conference, other leading politicians from the Social
Democratic party - which currently forms part of the governing coalition
with the Christian Democrats in Germany - also spoke out in favour of
the idea.
Former defence minister and head of the SPD group Peter Struck said:
"There will still be opposition to the idea of a European army as there
once was against the single currency, the euro.
"But single states are no longer able to handle the threats of today,"
he continued.
The German politicians' comments appear to be in line with the views of
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has in the past made several
statements on the need for common European defence.
The French president has more recently not been so vocal on the issue.
This is being seen as a deliberate ploy not to upset the EU treaty
ratification process, particularly in neutral Ireland - the only country
to have a referendum on the charter and where military issues are highly
sensitive with the electorate.
An email from a Dublin-based UK official after a briefing by an official
in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs that was leaked to the press
last month suggested that one of the reasons for having the treaty
referendum before summer rather than in autumn was due to a fear of
"unhelpful developments during the French presidency – particularly
related to EU defence."
In addition Britain, as the other serious military power in the EU along
with France, has also reacted coolly to Mr Sarkozy's push for more
integration in EU defence. London has also yet to ratify the EU treaty.
But Mr Sarkozy is expected to return to the issue in the second half of
this year, during his stint at the EU helm.
The EU treaty, which has to be ratified by all 27 countries to come into
force, allows for a group of member states who are politically willing
to go forward to structured cooperation in defence.
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