Emmanuel Macron unveils European defence coalition
Ten countries sign up following French president’s call for a ‘real European army’
A coalition of ten European militaries ready to defend the continent’s borders has been unveiled in Paris, just days after Emmanuel Macron called for a “real European army”.
Finland has joined Germany, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal in the French-led initiative, which will see members collaborate on planning, on the analysis of new military and humanitarian crises, and on eventual military responses to those crises.
Proponents say the coalition would not conflict with the almost 70-year-old, US-dominated Nato alliance, but reflects in part concerns about a more isolationist United States under President Donald Trump.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Reuters reports that the European Intervention Initiative took official shape in Paris “after months of negotiations with Germany, who France wants at the centre of the force”.
The imminent departure from the EU of Britain, long opposed to EU military collaboration outside Nato, has revived talk of defence cooperation - as have concerns that Trump might prove less willing than his predecessors to come to Europe’s defence in the face of a newly assertive Russia.
Macron’s push to bring together a core 10-nation coalition of the willing “was born out of French impatience with the EU’s efforts at defence co-operation”, known as Permanent Structured Co-operation (Pesco) says The Economist.
The magazine says “Germany has been keen on this mechanism, which keeps efforts at joint European defence within existing EU structures. Its critics, though, regard Pesco as a low-ambition pact that ropes in too many countries [25 in total], including those with little interest in sending troops abroad, to be operationally useful.”
Coming just days after Macron called for a “real European army” to reduce dependence on the United States, and with the vocal support of senior figures in Brussels, the coalition agreement will once again raising the spectre of a European Army.
Long the bete noire of conservative Eurosceptics, Politico says part of the reason for the coalition is “to bind Britain into military cooperation as it leaves the EU”.
The news site reports that Theresa May “quietly endorsed the initiative at a Franco-British summit at the Sandhurst Military Academy in January but did not publicise the step to avoid antagonizing hard-line Brexiteers in her Conservative Party, to whom any idea of an 'EU army' is anathema”.
Nevertheless, a senior French source said: “It’s really important to have the British on board, not just because they have the most capable, rapidly deployable armed forces along with our own, but also because we share the same strategic culture and history of projecting force outside Europe”.
Debating whether the UK should continue to defend its Western European allies, as it did throughout the 20th century, or take a more detached position, RT Howard in the Daily Telegraph argues “there is one compelling reason why our strategic ties with Western Europe now deserve to be closer than ever before”.
“The reason is not that Western Europe is today confronted by threats any greater than before” Howard writes, but rather “because of the increasingly fragile, fractious state of the European Union.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Sudan, tackling homelessness and fake news
Podcast What is happening in Sudan? Could London really end rough sleeping? And why has Joe Lycett being making up stories?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Taylor Swift's surprise double album: an event of 'world-shaking proportions'
Why Everyone's Talking About Fans are 'reeling' after The Tortured Poets Department is followed by The Anthology – 15 additional tracks
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
How would we know if World War Three had started?
Today's Big Question With conflicts in Ukraine, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, the 'spark' that could ignite all-out war 'already exists'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The issue of women and conscription
Under the radar Ukraine military adviser hints at widening draft to women, as other countries weigh defence options amid global insecurity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's unconventional approach to reconstruction
Under the radar Digitally savvy nation uses popular app to file compensation claims, access funds and rebuild destroyed homes
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Ukraine's leadership reset work?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy hints at ousting of popular military chief, but risks backlash amid dwindling munitions, delayed funding and Russian bombardment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Imran Khan sentenced to 10 years: how powerful is Pakistan's military?
Today's Big Question The country's armed forces ignore country's economic woes, control its institutions and, critics say, engineer election results
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Iran's endgame?
Today's Big Question Tehran seeks to supplant US and Saudi Arabia as dominant power in Middle East while forcing Israel to end Gaza war
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Israel proposes two-month pause in Gaza war in exchange for all Hamas hostages
Speed Read Deal doesn't include an agreement to end war, but might be 'the only path that could lead to a ceasefire', said US officials
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Nato official warns of all-out war with Russia in next 20 years
Speed Read Civilians must prepare for life-changing conflict and mass mobilisation, says military chief
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published