Expert: “European General Staff” should make the EU capable of defending itself

In order to enable the EU to act in the face of current threats in security policy, four EU states – Germany, France, Italy and Poland together with Great Britain – should military cooperation build up. According to the political scientist from the Humboldt University in Berlin, no lengthy changes to the EU treaties are necessary. An often-discussed “European army” would require too long a preparation phase.

NATO commander from Europe in the future?

A “European General Staff”, in which the leadership could rotate annually among the five states, should be given supreme command over the national armies of those EU states that want to take part. If the USA – as currently intended – significantly reduces its troop presence in Europe, this general staff should also – take over command of the NATO troops in Europe instead of the current US commander in chief (“Saceur”).

Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump wanted to weaken the EU in order to then be able to deal more easily with individual member states. China’s head of state Xi Jinping would also prefer to conclude trade agreements with individual EU countries. “It is currently nibbling at the peripheral countries of the EU,” said Münkler.

All three power blocs, the USA, Russia and China, rely on an “imperial order” and the law of the strongest, while in the EU the “state model based on international law” continues to apply. Münkler warned of the consequences of the loss of reputation that both Putin and Trump were responsible for. The Russian army lost its reputation in the war against Ukraine. And the United States has just “significantly lost” its reputation as the leading military power in the Iran War because, as the world’s strongest naval power, it could not open the Strait of Hormuz to free shipping.

USA must choose between Europe and the Pacific

In addition, by stopping arms aid to Ukraine, Trump used himself to exert pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. If Russia wins part of Donbass in peace negotiations, there will soon be imitators.

Münkler named Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will expand his power in the Middle East, and Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić, who wants to assert territorial claims in Kosovo or Bosnia. And Xi Jinping could attack Taiwan, which would force the US to decide whether Europe or the Pacific region is strategically more important to it. “None of this is a pleasant situation for the EU,” which is why a rapid military structural change is necessary, said Münkler.

In the subsequent panel debate, the former President of the European Parliament and head of the Forum Alpbach, Othmar Karas, blamed the EU states for their global weakness. “Out of convenience,” the EU would have become military dependent on the USA, dependent on cheap gas from Russia and dependent on cheap raw materials or medicines from China.

The economist and director of “EcoAustria”, Monika Köppl-Turyna, warned that budget problems were forcing EU states to spend little on future tasks and military procurement. The Styrian State Councilor for Economics and Science, Willibald Ehrenhöfer, called for credible reforms from the EU. You would also have to take the respective population with you, which is also possible with the appropriate information. EU citizens would then be prepared to “defend their model of life in democracy, freedom and prosperity.”