“In the 21st century, our sovereignty will be European or it won't be”

hasA specific vision of European security emerged with concrete plans. “This European army should not simply field national military unitsHe was announced as the Prime Minister of France. It only covers an old-fashioned alliance. A united European army consisting of the forces of various European countries should, as far as possible, bring all its human and material elements under a single European political and military authority. »

It was not a dream. The agreement supporting this vision detailed how common institutions would function, how common budgets would be financed, how common military forces would function, specifying the number of units and soldiers, their identities, and their uniforms. A protocol to be added to the North Atlantic Treaty was even sent to the US Senate, which approved it. A European army is therefore possible. Rather than possible, necessary. “World events leave us with no choice”This was announced by the Head of Government.

But suddenly the Russian threat seemed to fade and all was abandoned. The year was 1954. The prime minister at the time was René Pleven (1901-1993), who was called the head of the Council of Ministers. The factor that halted the European Defense Community (EDC) was Stalin's death on March 5, 1953, and vain hopes for a peaceful Russia. The impetus given to Europe to ensure its own security has evaporated.

Separate security structures

Stalin is back today. Moscow crushes dissent, invades its neighbors and dreams of writing history through brute force. Parallels between Putin and Stalin have been widely drawn. We are once again in a cold war, which threatens to escalate at any moment.

The only thing that fails to complete the picture is to draw the consequences of Europe. At most we are talking about an increase in military spending and European integration of national defense industries. Worse, we pretend to believe that creating a European Security Commissioner is enough to solve all the problems. If the Kremlin seems like a throwback to the 1950s, Perlemont is [bâtiment où siège la Commission européenne, à Bruxelles] They still think it's the 1990s.

Let's talk about the harsh realities of the 21st instead^e century We Europeans together already spend three times more than Russia, without improving our common defense capabilities. In terms of value for money, we are four times less efficient than the US. We already knew this during the abortive operations in Libya in 2011. Europe claimed to lead operations, but lacked operational capabilities and was soon forced to ask the Americans to take over. This state of helplessness is repeated in Syria, in Africa, in Ukraine. Yet we still fail to learn the lessons.

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