European Airforce: Germany, France and Spain sign European Jet fighter deal

Germany, France and Spain sign deal on European fighter jet

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EU Military Developments: New HQ to take charge of EU military missions - by Andrew Rettman

EU Combined Military Forces Get HQ In Brussels

EU states have cleared the way for a new HQ to take charge of three military missions in a “couple of days”, as well as broader plans for joint defense.

The HQ will, in the words of 28 defence ministers adopted on Thursday (18 May), “assume responsibilities at the strategic level for the operational planning and conduct of the EU’s non-executive military missions” including “the three EU Training Missions deployed in Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia”.

Missions of a “non-executive” nature, in EU jargon, do not involve combat and cannot take decisions independently of their host nations.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said “the political decision is finalised” and that it would take “a couple of days” to have the new HQ “officially in place”.

An EU source said it was a matter of circulating and rubber-stamping the legal documents that would underpin the new entity.

They said the UK had, as of Monday, still objected to describing it in language that made it sound as though it was a military command structure or the start of a future EU army, but that compromise wording, which will be published shortly, had now been agreed.

The HQ will be located in a building that already houses Mogherini's military staff in Brussels, and will take over command tasks previously handled out separate locations in member states.

The EU defence ministers decided additionally on Thursday that deployment of EU “battlegroups” in the field would in future be paid for out of the EU budget and not by participating member states.

Read more: New HQ to take charge of EU military missions

EU France’s next big challenge: defense policy – by Paul Taylor

French voters face a stark choice on May 7 between retreating into isolationism or taking the lead in shaping a European defense policy to respond to Islamic terrorism, an unstable neighborhood, a resurgent Russia, an uncertain America and a rising China.

France prizes its strategic autonomy but can no longer afford to go it alone as a pocket superpower.

That means the two options represented by the finalists in the presidential election — independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and anti-EU nationalist Marine Le Pen — represent a crucial fork in the road when it comes to France’s defense and foreign policy.

Macron, the front-runner and most pro-European of the 11 first round contenders, advocates closer European defense integration compatible with NATO as part of a strengthened EU and eurozone.

Le Pen wants to pull France out of NATO’s military wing, restore border controls, abandon the euro and call a referendum on France’s EU membership, raise protectionist trade barriers and pursue a strictly national defense policy.

If Macron wins, he has a historic opportunity to lead Europe in defense provided he eschews traditional French arrogance toward smaller EU countries and embraces a more comprehensive approach to security that combines “hard security” with diplomacy, development aid, open trade and institution building.

He will also need to jettison a half-baked campaign promise to restore a one-month compulsory military service period for all young French people, which would be costly and yield no extra military capability.

The 39-year-old political novice may also have to face down resistance in the high command, political establishment and defense industries to closer EU cooperation on defense policy, arms production and military technology.

Read more: France’s next big challenge: defense policy – POLITICO

EU Military: Europe will never do its defense homework

In the enraging and wholly vacuous phrase so beloved by European decision-makers and analysts, I simply don't believe - using the last 20 years of data as my guide - that the continent will ever do its homework and move away from free-riding off the American military, for the compelling reason that Europe simply does not want to.

So for the last time, let's shred the paper-thin argument of Europe's NATO cheerleaders. After the Cold War ended, the excuse put forward for why defense spending on the continent was being cut is that there was no longer a clear and present danger compelling such spending; with the demise of the USSR it simply was not possible to rouse European publics to defend themselves against a foe that did not exist.

Europe would learn to do more with less, to work together to create economies of scale, thereby making up for the peace dividend in terms of defense spending.

Read more: Europe will never do its defense homework | Europe | DW.DE | 06.05.2015

Making NATO defunct: Is EU Army intended to reduce US influence in Europe?

An EU Defense Force? Why not.

An EU military force is being justified as protection from Russia, but it may also be a way of reducing US influence as the EU and Germany come to loggerheads with the US and NATO over Ukraine.

While speaking to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the time has come for the creation of a unified EU military force. Juncker used rhetoric about “defending the values of the European Union” and nuanced anti-Russian polemics to promote the creation of European army, which would convey a message to Moscow.
 
The polemics and arguments for an EU Army may be based around Russia, but the idea is really directed against the US. The underlying story here is the tensions that are developing between the US, on one side, and the EU and Germany, on the other side. This is why Germany reacted enthusiastically to the proposal, putting its support behind a joint EU armed force.

Previously, the EU military force was seriously mulled over was during the buildup to the illegal Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003 when Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg met to discuss it as an alternative to US-dominated NATO. The idea has been resurrected again under similar circumstances.

In 2003, the friction was over the US-led invasion of Iraq. In 2015, it is because of the mounting friction between Germany and the US over the crisis in Ukraine.

Franco-German differences with the US began to emerge after Tony Blinken, US President Barak Obama’s former Deputy National Security Advisor and current Deputy Secretary of State and the number two diplomat at the US Department of State, announced that the Pentagon was going to send arms into Ukraine at a hearing of the US Congress about his nomination, that was held on November 19, 2014.

As the Fiscal Times put it, “Washington treated Russia and the Europeans to a one-two punch when it revealed its thinking about arming Ukraine.”

Realizing that things could escalate out of control, the French and German response was to initiate a peace offence through diplomatic talks that would eventually lead to a new ceasefire agreement in Minsk, Belarus under the “Normandy Format” consisting of the representatives of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine.

Pessimists may argue that France and Germany opted for diplomacy in February 2015, because the rebels in East Ukraine or Novorossiya, as they call it, were beating Kiev’s forces. In other words, the primary motivation of diplomacy was to save the government in Kiev from collapsing without a fair settlement in the East. This may be true to an extent, but the Franco-German pair also does not want to see Europe turned into an inferno that reduces everyone in it to ashes.

Note EU-Digest: NATO was a good thing after the second world war but seems outdated today and dragging Europeans into US military adventures outside Europe. A EU conscript military would probably also be helpful in the unification process of Europe. As long as they call it a defense force meant soly to defend the territory of the the EU I would be for it.

Read more: Making NATO defunct: Is EU Army intended to reduce US influence in Europe? — RT Op-Edge

The Netherlands: EU Defense Cooperation Takes Flight at Joint Air Base in Eindhoven

Much talked about but rare in practice, EU defense cooperation is becoming a reality at a Dutch air base where French, German and Benelux personnel mount thousands of missions each year.

“Small is beautiful” could be the motto for the European Air Transport Command, working at Eindhoven to offer a real joint capability to cash-strapped European Union states.

“The EATC is a unique military structure in Europe. It works on the principle of ‘car-sharing,’” said its commander, French Gen. Pascal Valentin.

The EATC was set up in 2010 at the initiative of the French and German military who had pushed the idea since 2000 to share air transport resources and help reduce costs.

Shortly afterward, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — who already pool significant military resources — joined them.

The aim is to maximize the use of military transport resources at a time when tighter defense budgets put a premium on cost effectiveness.

For example, if a German plane is going to Afghanistan, EATC will ensure it has a full load both ways, be it a French cargo of equipment or Dutch soldiers.

“It is a bit like the tie-ups you see among commercial airlines,” such as Skyteam or Star Alliance, German Lt. Col. Ralf Gerard said.

Read more: EU Defense Cooperation Takes Flight at Joint Air Base | Defense News | defensenews.com