Merkel’s warning shot to Trump with call for an EU army
ANGeLA Merkel risked a row with Donald trump yesterday by calling for a ‘real, true european army’.
the call could dramatically escalate tensions with the uS President, already angered by similar calls from emmanuel Macron.
Last week the french president listed the uS alongside China and Russia as countries it needed to defend itself from with a ‘real’ eu army. Mr trump branded the suggestion ‘insulting’.
But in an address to the eu parliament yesterday, Mrs Merkel ratcheted up the rhetoric. Speaking in Strasbourg about the future of the eu, the German chancellor said: ‘the times when we could rely on others are past.
‘this means that we as europeans now have to really take our fate fully into our own hands if we want to defend our community. We have already achieved cooperation in the military sphere, that is good, and we’re going to continue to support this.
‘But what we should do, and this is really important if we look at the developments of the past years, we have to work on a vision of one day creating a real, true european army.’ Mrs Merkel insisted her comments did not undermine Nato. twenty-three eu countries along with the uS are members of the military alliance.
She said: ‘eu Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker some years ago said a common european army would show the world that there will never again be war in europe.
‘I’m not saying anything against Nato, of course not, we can be a good supplement to Nato. But if we could work together and pool our efforts together then we could work together with Nato with a european army.’
to rapturous applause from MePs she also called for a european Security Council that would be responsible for coordinating defence policy across the continent. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg warned eu leaders on Monday against undermining transatlantic ties and the military alliance.
Speaking in Berlin, he warned against duplication and jeopardising relations with the uS.
He said: ‘More european efforts on defence is great but it should never undermine the strength of the transatlantic bond. two world wars and a cold war taught us the importance of doing things together.
‘the reality is that we need one strong and capable command structure, we can’t divide those resources in two.’
Mr Macron echoed Mrs Merkel’s call last week in an inter- view, partially fuelled by Mr trump’s decision to pull out of a Russian nuclear treaty.
He said: ‘I believe in the project of a sovereign europe. We won’t protect europe if we don’t decide to have a true european army. We have to have a europe that can defend itself alone – and without only relying on the united States in a more sovereign manner.
‘We should protect ourselves when it comes to China, Russia and even the uS.’
In response Mr trump tweeted before a meeting between the pair, saying: ‘Very insulting, but perhaps europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the uS subsidises greatly!’