New European army to rise against NATO and Russia

The head of government of the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker, a well-known lobbyist of transnational companies, proposed creating the joint European army on the basis of the armies of Germany and France. This new unifying idea of Europe will be discussed at the next EU summit in June.

Jean-Claude Juncker, when serving as the prime minister of Luxembourg (the world's largest offshore), relieved transnational corporations from paying taxes in their home countries, having thus laid the burden of the crisis on common people's shoulders. The scandal in Europe was grand, many politicians were protesting against Juncker's appointment as the head of the European Commission.

Is this man of tainted reputation working again on behalf of large lobbyists, this time from the military-industrial complex?

According to Jean-Claude Juncker, the European army can save a lot from buying jointly developed weapons. Apparently, he is creating a new team of old friends. With the help of German concerns, the Greek army is the most powerful one in the EU armed with 1,462 tanks. Germany, by comparison, has 322 tanks. This team of old friends will be able to generate orders for the military-industrial complex of France and Germany.

The reason is simple. There is a crisis and no investment there. During the recent several years, about 50 percent of German industrial equipment, according to the Bundestag, was not working due to the lack of orders.

Of course, the real reason is not being advertised. Excuses for the aggressive strategy are traditional: the "Russian threat" and liberation from the dictates of NATO (the US that is). "It would be a signal to Russia that we are serious about the protection of European values," the head of the European Commission said. The joint EU Army could serve as a deterrent against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine. In the future, it would protect non-NATO countries from the threat of military invasion, said Juncker in an interview with Die Welt.

German officials support idea of joint European army

The project received immediate approval from Germany's Defense Minister Ursula von der Lyayen. Other German politicians - President of the International Committee of the Bundestag, Norbert Rettgen (CDU), as well as the head of the Defense Committee, Social Democrat Hans-Peter Bartels, supported Juncker too. They said that there was no need to negotiate with all 28 states at once. According to them, one can start with concluding bilateral agreements.

The German press is optimistic about the project as well. Frankfurter Rundschau believes that the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker put forward a reasonable suggestion. The newspaper recalls that in 1952, France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries wanted to create a joint defensive army, but French Gaullists and Communists buried the idea at the parliament.

The Nurnberger Zeitung newspaper said that Europe must recognize that the world sees the European Union as something bigger than just a union of economies. Therefore, Europe should become independent morally and militarily in order to survive between the fields of two forces."

Noteworthy, the German media arranged an attack against Gen. Philip Breedlove, the commander of NATO forces in Europe. The general has been too aggressive and inconsistent in his accusations against Russia. German bloggers believe that the creation of a single European army, in essence, would mean the collapse of NATO and the termination of its existence as unnecessary. In this case, the US will lose control of Europe, because the US control over Europe is based on Europe's military and political guarantees.

If Europe has its own independent army with France possessing nuclear weapons, then Britain does not need to join the army, and Europe will obtain military and political independence.

Thus, the name of the country that ordered the plan to create the unified army is obvious - this is Germany. The country has recently announced plans to increase its armored forces. Berlin spends around 37 billion euros per year on its military forces, and this year will bring this amount to 74 billion, according to the NATO directive to spend two percent of GDP on defense. Juncker speaks for Merkel here, who is not allowed to be "aggressive" under the UN charter.

"I do not think that Germany came into conflict with NATO. At the same time, the divergent interests is obvious, - Vladimir Yevseyev, Director of the Center for Public Policy Research, a military expert, told Pravda.Ru. - Washington controls Merkel. In Germany there is a huge the number of US troops and their stationing in Germany is occupational in nature. In these circumstances, Germany can not go against NATO, but Germany would like to show that it is the most important country in the EU."

"The issue of the creation of the European army surfaces during the time of Euro-American contradictions in political and military affairs," Mikhail Alexandrov, a leading expert of the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO, Doctor of Political Sciences told Pravda.Ru. According to the expert, Juncker's statement was an act of diplomatic pressure on the United States.

"Apparently, the Europeans are satisfied with the Minsk Agreements, and they do not want to derail them, while the US continues running a hard line," said the expert.

Noteworthy, Juncker himself confirmed the above-mentioned point of view. "In terms of foreign policy, it seems that we are not being taken seriously," complained the head of the European Commission.

Yet, even most optimistic European federalists do not count on the creation of "the Juncker army" in the near future. The EU has neither the capacity nor the resources for building joint armed forces, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said.

What are the implications for Russia? "Russia will have to respond by creating an offensive potential, as soon as it sees some military development near its borders, like the construction of depots of heavy weapons that may entail the deployment of the forces of NATO or the European Union. Russia's response can particularly target the Baltic States. If this happens, then one will be able to talk about a serious arms race on the European continent and the deterioration of security in Europe on the whole," Vladimir Yevseyev told Pravda.Ru.

Lyuba Lulko

Pravda.Ru

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