EU may be hedging their bets on NATO, announce Joint Defense Fund, by
Alex Hollings 12/1/16
The European
Union has announced a new plan to increase defense spending across the
continent, in what some are calling a precursor to a larger EU Defense Union.
The European Defense Action Plan
calls for a dramatic increase in funding for joint military assets among
member nations. The proposal includes increasing immediate expenditures
from twenty-five million euros per year to ninety million by 2020, when it will
be replaced by a new defense spending program that allocates five hundred
million euros annually. An additional fund created in this plan could
potentially be worth five billion euros per year, and could be used to help
member states acquire expensive military assets like drones in joint purchases
with other nations to reduce costs.
The plan is intended to help bolster
defense spending throughout the European Union, while also creating a “single
market for defense” within the organization. This financial strategy
would be modeled after existing “single markets” in Europe designed to aid
international trade within the Union like telecoms and energy.
Some believe this influx in military
spending within the EU is due to concerns over President Elect Donald
Trump’s stance
on NATO, who made headlines during his presidential campaign when he suggested
that the United States may not come to the aid of its NATO allies in their time
of need. Trump’s stance is based on his concerns over many of the
organization’s member nations failing to meet their required defense
expenditures, opting to rely instead on the military might of the United
States.
John Bolton, rumored to be a
contender for Secretary of State under President Trump, said he believed any effort to establish a joint European
military body must be considered a sign of withering confidence in NATO in the
face of Trump’s hard line stance on the organization.
“If they actually got to the point
of achieving [a true EU military capability] – that would be a dagger pointed
at the heart of NATO,” Bolton said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily
radio on Wednesday. “If the EU says, ‘Actually, we can defend ourselves,’ I
tell you, there are a lot of Americans who would say, ‘Fine, and by the way,
the next time an authoritarian militaristic society threatens you, let us know
how it turns out.’”
Trump’s message may have been
received loud and clear by some foreign leaders. Jean-Claude Juncker, the
head of the European Commission, seemed to agree with Trumps sentiments in his
statement following the unveiling of the new plan.
“If Europe does not take care of its
own security, nobody else will do it for us,” Juncker said in his statement, “A strong, competitive and innovative
defense industrial base is what will give us strategic autonomy.” Juncker
has gone on record in the past with his desire to expand the European Union’s
military role and ultimately calls for a joint “European Army” to protect and
defend the affiliated nations.
The head of foreign affairs for the
European Union, Federica Mogherini, said that the new plan and increased
emphasis on European security has nothing to do with concerns about Trump’s
loyalty to NATO, nor is it a precursor to a European army.
“We are not talking about a European
headquarters here … about a European army,” Mogherini told reporters. “It is about streamlining what we have to
make EU defense work better … it is not about competition or duplication.”
She then added that all member states were “fully on board” with the
announced plans.
The European Union is comprised of
twenty-eight member nations, twenty-two of which are also members of
NATO. Among the nations claiming membership in both camps is Britain, who
has outwardly demonstrated opposition to any EU measure that could undermine
the NATO alliance, which includes its closest ally, the United States.
The proposal will be discussed by
member nations at the EU’s leader’s summit this coming December, where defense
is expected to a primary topic for conversation. Concerns about changes
that may come the following month when Donald Trump takes office as the
President of the United States are also expected to be discussed.
Comments
The EU
wants to be the only government in Europe. It’s part of the UN Agenda 21 Plan.
This needs to be stopped in its tracks.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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