The European Union’s incoming Commission President spoke in Berlin on Friday and said the EU needs to develop more security power.
Ursula von der Leyen said, “Soft power alone won’t suffice today if we Europeans want to assert ourselves in the world. Europe must also learn the language of power.”
“That means on the one hand developing our own muscles – where for a long time we could lean on others, for example in security policy. On the other hand, it means engaging our available power with more focus,” Von der Leyen added.
Von der Leyen will start her new post as President of the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, on December 1st. Von der Leyen previously served as Germany’s defense minister and has worked closely with Paris to promote European defense projects.
President Trump has repeatedly asked NATO members, most of which are EU countries, to increase defense spending, something Von der Leyen could be responding to.
Von der Leyen also spoke of expanding the EU and adding North Macedonia and Albania. “We have demanded a lot from North Macedonia and Albania. They complied in full. Now we must honor our word and facilitate accession talks,” she said.
Europe is lost snd no language of power will change that. Adding Albania and North Macedonia will not add anything to Europe, other then economic burden.
And how is responding to Trump’s call going to help Europe? NATO is under the command of US general, and that is not going to change. And the general reports to US president. So much for Europe. And how does EU fit into NATO structure, or any other military role? More debt anyone?
Huh? Is that ‘relearn’ the language of imperialism or ‘learn’ a more modern dialect and delivery…
The U.S. has been doing all the heavy lifting for so long, the Euros may have gotten a bit rusty.
Heavy lifting ? You mean war crimes, invasion, slaughter of brown people.. .that kind of “heavy lifting”?
Why yes actually.
NATO Europe’s free ride on U.S. blood and treasure also excuses them from the corrosive moral burden of constant hands-on hard power imperialism. Not that U.S. warmongers minded much as there was a payoff for them, but Europe seems to feel itself America’s moral superior.
They are not.
Germany and France are leading the charge for a true European Army in apparent response to the decline in the overall size and deployments of U.S. forces over time.
In response to Trump’s demands that Europe step up more, German Chancellor Merkel was quoted shortly after the 2017 G7 summit as saying,
“The times when we could fully rely on others are to some extent over — I experienced that in the last few days…We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.
…. Of course we need to have friendly relations with the
U.S. and with the U.K. and with other neighbors… We have to fight for our own future ourselves.”
Ummm .. how did Hitler work out for you guys ? Ready for more of that ?