When talks come to having an ‘Independent European Army’, the European Union is grossly divided. While countries like France, Germany and Spain seem to endorse the notion, but Denmark, Britain and the Netherlands are opposed to idea an Independent European Army.
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European Army: Possible?
Initially, the French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been very vocal about the idea of having an Independent European Army. In an interview with Europe1 Radio, Emmanuel Macron said Europe needs to be protected against China, Russia and even the United States. “Faced by Russia, which is on our borders and which has shown that it can be threatening, we need to have a Europe that can better defend itself by itself, without depending solely on the United States”, stated Macron.
However, the US President Donald Trump described the ‘idea’ as ‘very insulting’. Trump called on the German and French officials to increase their defence budget. Britain and four other countries from the 29 NATO member states have been willing to devote two per cent of their GDP on NATO defence spending. “This is a sign of continuous conflict between the US and other NATO members.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was quite the nature for Europe to want so. He said, “Europe is a powerful economic entity, a powerful economic union and it is quite natural that it wants to be independent, self-sufficient and sovereign in matters of defence and security.”
Meanwhile, Britain, even as it works towards an exit from the EU, will maintain security relations with the United States and the NATO member states. It is not strange for EU nations to seek security independence from the United States.
For now, Independent European Army looks an excellent idea on paper, but may never see light anytime soon. But then again, EU should be ready to expect the unexpected from Donald Trump!
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