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| EU needs independent defense, says French PM after Trump’s NATO comment | EU needs independent defense, says French PM after Trump’s NATO comment |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has called for the creation of an independent European defense system, in response to Donald Trump's recent criticism of NATO, which the US president-elect called “obsolete.” | French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has called for the creation of an independent European defense system, in response to Donald Trump's recent criticism of NATO, which the US president-elect called “obsolete.” |
| In the interview with German newspaper Bild and the Times of London, published Sunday, Trump raised doubts that the US, under his leadership, would come to the rescue of its NATO allies in Europe if Russia were to attack them. | In the interview with German newspaper Bild and the Times of London, published Sunday, Trump raised doubts that the US, under his leadership, would come to the rescue of its NATO allies in Europe if Russia were to attack them. |
| “Number one, it [NATO] was obsolete because it was designed many, many years ago. Number two, the countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to pay," Trump told his interviewers. “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror [sic].” | “Number one, it [NATO] was obsolete because it was designed many, many years ago. Number two, the countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to pay," Trump told his interviewers. “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror [sic].” |
| READ MORE: Europe needs own army, can’t rely on US forever – EU Commission President | READ MORE: Europe needs own army, can’t rely on US forever – EU Commission President |
| Just as with his campaign rhetoric, Trump’s latest interview made a number of European capitals apprehensive. And while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that “Europeans have our fate in our own hands,” Cazeneuve called Tuesday for the establishment of a European defense system to break away from Washington’s security dependency, which has reigned in Europe for seven decades. | Just as with his campaign rhetoric, Trump’s latest interview made a number of European capitals apprehensive. And while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that “Europeans have our fate in our own hands,” Cazeneuve called Tuesday for the establishment of a European defense system to break away from Washington’s security dependency, which has reigned in Europe for seven decades. |
| “We need European defense, with European means, with European investments, with a European projection capacity that will make the EU, the peoples and the nations that make it up, independent,” he told lawmakers while answering questions from the National Assembly. | “We need European defense, with European means, with European investments, with a European projection capacity that will make the EU, the peoples and the nations that make it up, independent,” he told lawmakers while answering questions from the National Assembly. |
| Such independence from Washington will affirm European “principles, its values, and its identity,” he said. | Such independence from Washington will affirm European “principles, its values, and its identity,” he said. |
| Cazeneuve’s comments came a day after the French President Francois Hollande said the EU “has no need for outside advice to tell it what it has to do.” | Cazeneuve’s comments came a day after the French President Francois Hollande said the EU “has no need for outside advice to tell it what it has to do.” |
| “I say it here, Europe will always be willing to pursue transatlantic cooperation, but it will determine its path on the basis of its own interests and values,” Hollande said on Monday. | “I say it here, Europe will always be willing to pursue transatlantic cooperation, but it will determine its path on the basis of its own interests and values,” Hollande said on Monday. |
| In November, the EU Parliament passed a resolution to create a defense union. The resolution envisions dedicating 2 percent of member nations’ GDP to defense, as well as establishing EU multinational forces to allow the bloc to act in any situation in which “NATO is unwilling to [act].” | |
| “Our Union is not equipped to face overwhelming defense challenges. For almost 30 years, most of its member states have been cutting their defense budgets, leading to smaller armed forces. Cooperation among member states is occasional and Europe continues to rely heavily on NATO capabilities and on the US solidarity,” Urmas Paet, Estonia's former foreign minister and current member of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, said in late November. | |
| MEPs supported the proposed EU investment in defense-related research projects “of at least €90 million during next three years,” which could be followed by a “separate European Defense Research Program with an annual budget of €500 million ($530 million).” | |
| The notion of creating a single European army is just pie in the sky, Russia’s permanent representative to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, said late last month. | |
| “The creation of a European army is an impossible dream,” Grushko said, as quoted by TASS. “More likely would be the creation of a certain staff group [within the EU] with a military and civilian component, which would allow to settle under one roof planning and control of all operations carried out by the EU." | |
| Among the reasons preventing the creation of a single EU army, Grushko highlighted economic factors, saying the step would trigger a “merger of defense industries and creation of tools that would allow companies to cooperate. But, as we know, production of weapons is an extremely competitive environment.” |