Chancellor Angela Merkel stood up and made a speech before the EU Parliament yesterday. The main topic?
A sort of wild idea of hers....suggesting a EU Army. The key phrase....NOT to be an alternate, but an ADDITION to NATO.
The news piece I pulled this from? ARD, public TV new in Germany.....Channel One.
The amusing part of this piece (I watched the video clip)....as she gave this suggestion....there was a brief interruption and 'boos' taking place (not a lot but it was obvious).
So I sat and pondered over this comment and suggestion. I have seven observations:
1. To achieve this....you'd have to go and spend something greater than this 2-percent of GDP issue that currently plagues about twenty of the EU members (Germany and France are both having this same problem). But let's be clear....you'd have to reach 2-percent and to really add any 'meat' to this EU Army existing....you probably are talking about a minimum of five-billion Euro a year from the 28 nations (oh, and lets remember that the UK won't be part of this deal after spring of 2019). Can they whip out another five-billion Euro for this united EU deal? Or would we go cheap....throw 500 million EU on the table and just run a 3,000 man tank and assault unit out of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and France?
2. Could you sell the 27 remaining members (having taken the UK out) on this idea of spending on a EU Army? I suspect you can only find seven to ten nations that really think this is a wise idea.
3. The idea that NATO still continues to exist, and this EU Army is separate? Go explain how this would work, and who would give the orders.
4. Once you had this mechanism created....wouldn't the next step be to dislodge NATO and move the remaining European military units under the EU?
5. Wouldn't President Trump take notice of this game and just start moving US troops out of Germany....perhaps to Poland? Well....nothing really prevents him from doing so. Even a Democratic House would only have a budget in hand to prevent him from doing so, but since the Senate won't go hand-in-hand with them.....there's likely no budget for the next two years.
6. Who would be the director or general of such a EU Army? Could they pack up and leave the NATO line of command and step into the EU line of command? Could the EU declare some conflict but NATO refuse to get into it?
7. Finally.....once you explain the extra cost feature to EU citizens...won't they go a bit 'nuts' and ask what the heck are they paying for?
So I think this talk of Chancellor Merkels.....is mostly just chatter. It won't go anywhere. It sounds good on some university thesis project, but in real terms.....it's beyond their financial capability
