By Thorsten Jungholt
(Welt)
He started again.
During the European Parliament debate on the repercussions of the American elections on Wednesday, Josep Borrell first conveyed his congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden for this “
historic victory
”.
Then, the EU's foreign affairs official quickly got to the heart of the matter: for him, Europe must "
strengthen its strategic autonomy, better manage its capacities and protect us effectively
" if it is to be able to fully exploit the opportunities. that would be offered by a new era of partnership between the EU and the United States.
Since the Spanish Social Democrat was appointed High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy almost a year ago, he has had nothing to say but these words.
During his inauguration speech, he notably declared that the EU must learn "
the language of power
".
During the Munich Security Conference, he stressed that Europe should not be content to "
slip in daily comments to express its concerns
", but actively defend its interests, both diplomatic and military.
And Josep Borrell was able to translate his words into actions: he has already campaigned for the deployment of soldiers in Libya, and would not be opposed to a strengthening of the European military presence in the Sahel either.
"
The era of the conciliatory European Union, when it is not naive, has lived
", wrote the head of European diplomacy in the newspaper Die Welt.
“
Virtuous soft power is no longer enough in today's world.
We must add a dimension of hard power
. ”
The Battlegroups have never intervened in the absence of a political agreement.
Yet in fact, Josep Borrell is a king without a kingdom.
Foreign policy decisions require the unanimity of the 27 member states, while recourse to the military remains the responsibility of national governments.
Of course, since 2005 there have been European combat troops, known as the Battlegroups.
These are two military devices composed of 1,500 soldiers each, which are made available to the EU in order to enable it to react quickly to possible crises.
These battalions are equipped with heavy equipment such as tanks and combat helicopters, and are led for six months by a framework nation, which is one of the Member States providing the bulk of the contingent, according to a principle of rotation.
Currently, these are Germany and Italy.
Other countries are participating with smaller numbers.
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However, the Battlegroups have never yet intervened in the absence of a political agreement.
So far, no member state has even volunteered to take on the role of umbrella nation for the first half of 2021 - although Europe has around 1.4 million active troops.
The Commission is currently negotiating with Berlin and Rome to extend their mission for at least three more months.
The German defense minister has hinted that he might be willing to do so, provided the other countries take more responsibility.
If the discussions are going well, this quack is already a serious setback for the geostrategic ambitions of Josep Borrell.
The Spaniard nevertheless received support from the German Social Democrats.
“
The geopolitical situation and European values oblige the EU to take an active role in the field of security policy
,” reads a twelve-page reflection document drafted by the working group on security and defense policy. SPD group in the Bundestag - in line with the goals of Josep Borrell.
However, they add, in crisis situations "
the Commission still depends too much on the will of each other"
.
The time has therefore come "
to take a courageous step towards the creation of a European army
".
The proposal of the SPD defense policy experts is called “the 28th Army”.
Rather than focusing on the development of cooperation between the 27 national armies as has been done until now, a separate army would thus be created, in parallel with the national troops.
The 28th Army would be directly subject to the Commission and placed under the responsibility of a new Defense Commissioner.
"Free ourselves from the heavy questions of sovereignty"
Political control would be ensured by a Defense Committee of the European Parliament.
As in Germany, MEPs would thus decide on the deployment of troops by a simple majority on a proposal from the Commission.
This is what distinguishes this SPD proposal from other initiatives previously launched, such as that of the former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski, who proposed the creation of a "European legion" like the French foreign legion. .
According to the concept paper, the strength of the 28th Army would be based on that of the Battlegroups, with an initial contingent of around 1,500 soldiers.
In the medium term, a brigade of combat troops should be added to reach around 8,000 soldiers, including support elements such as logistics and medical personnel.
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“
The objective is to improve the EU's capacity for action by freeing us from heavy questions of sovereignty
” explains Fritz Felgentreu, rapporteur for defense policy within the SPD group.
“
In addition to the force of action that already exists in trade matters and the greater determination that we wish to achieve in the world of diplomacy, the 28th Army could durably strengthen the military pillar of European cooperation.
"
The SPD report contains many proposals in terms of funding, equipment, working language, remuneration and concerning the complex issue of parking space, the EU obviously not having its own territory.
The European treaties should also be amended.
However, German defense policy experts do not claim to provide all the answers.
Fritz Felgentreu and his acolytes call for a “
revolutionary impetus to stimulate the evolutionary process
” of creation of the European army.
Initially, their idea of the 28th Army would have limited operational readiness and capacity.
But in the longer term, it could, by evolving, "
assume many missions of the national armed forces in the fields of the army, navy, aviation and cyber-security, and thus lead to a real European army
”.
The report concludes by stressing that in the absence of such a project, the only alternative would be to accept that Europe continues to suffer from its powerlessness in the area of security policy.