The picture shows French and German leaders jointly commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War in the Gombinet Forest, where the First World War ended, on November 10 local time. (Source: China News Network)

Recently, French President Marcon called for the creation of a "European army" at the commemoration of the centenary of the end of the First World War. On November 13, German Chancellor Merkel expressed her support for this in her speech at the European Parliament. The process of European security and defense integration has attracted world attention again.

　　

Steady progress of defense cooperation

"We must strengthen our capacity for self-defence... Only by establishing a real European army can we achieve self-defence." Makron spoke strongly and firmly, and soon received a response from Merkel, who also called for the establishment of the European Security Council to take charge of European defense and security policy. "The era when we can rely on others unconditionally is gone forever. If we want to protect Europe, we must take our destiny in our own hands."

According to Reuters, after Makron called for the establishment of a "European army", the European Commission also said that the European Union should form its own "defense system" and might build its own army one day in the future. Spokesman Hinas pointed out that European cooperation in defense will start with defense procurement, research and development, and military peacekeeping missions, so as to establish a "more meaningful and confident defense system".

In the past two years, with the advocacy and promotion of France and Germany, European defense integration has made significant progress.

In November 2016, the European Commission proposed the "European Defense Action Plan" and set up a European Defense Fund of more than 5 billion euros every year, aiming to promote research and development and industrial development in the field of defense.

In December 2017, 25 EU member states signed a joint agreement on "permanent structural cooperation" in the field of defense. Under this framework, 17 defense cooperation projects were initially launched, covering military training, network security, logistics support, disaster relief and strategic command.

In June 2018, nine countries, including France and Britain, signed a letter of intent on the "European Intervention Initiative", promising to set up a joint military intervention force, taking a substantive step forward in European common defense cooperation.

"After the cold war, Europe realized that the alliance between Europe and the United States had changed a lot, and had the concept of strategic autonomy at the level of willingness. It began to emphasize the development of its own capabilities and avoid completely relying on the alliance." Cui Hongjian, director of the European Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of International Studies, pointed out that since 2016, European defense cooperation has maintained a pace of progress year by year.

Significant differences within the alliance

According to the BBC analysis, there are two reasons why Makron calls for building "Europe's own army". One is to hope to build a stronger EU force; Second, we are worried about Trump's withdrawal from various treaties and other actions.

"Europe needs to promote European integration through security and defense integration. In recent years, integration in economic, trade, finance and other fields has encountered great resistance, and security issues may be expected to break through." Cui Hongjian pointed out that under the world environment of rapid multipolar development and intensified competition among major countries, the original development model of Europe is difficult to adapt, The emphasis on soft power alone cannot avoid security threats. Brexit has further weakened the overall security capability of the EU, making defense cooperation particularly necessary.

Although the sincerity of cooperation has begun to take shape, there are still several obstacles that cannot be circumvented at the operational level.

According to Agence France Presse on November 12, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a forum: "It is good for the EU to make more efforts in defense, but it should not weaken transatlantic relations. NATO is still the cornerstone of European security."

"The vast majority of NATO European allies, whether intelligence, equipment or military command system, are within the framework of NATO. Some member states are not confident in the establishment of independent defense by the EU, and are more accustomed to relying on NATO to provide security protection. How to deal with two sets of defense systems that may compete, countries are still difficult to answer in the short term." Cui Hongjian analyzed that, Due to different geographical locations and diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, it is difficult for EU countries to have common security threat targets. Whether to take action and which direction to take action will become the disagreement of the defense alliance.

The shadow of the debt crisis has also left some European countries unable to do what they want, and their biggest demand is to develop the economy and improve people's livelihood. The BBC commented that at present no European country or organization has such economic power to build a military force comparable to that of the United States, and the European Union may not be able to resist the threat of Russia that they worry about on its own.

In addition, as the "leader" of the EU, France and Germany also have their own small plans on defense issues. There are differences in concepts and objectives between the two countries, and specific problems will be fully exposed. Cui Hongjian pointed out that France, to some extent, wants to use the European platform to consolidate its hard power, so it takes foreign intervention as an important indicator of security and defense, which meets the red line of Germany. After World War II, Germany constantly emphasized its concept of peace in law and politics, and hoped to promote cooperation from the perspective of European integration on defense issues.

The multipolar world is the trend

The analysis points out that Europe's demand for defense integration is an objective reflection of the evolution of the world towards multi polarization, which is conducive to maintaining the strategic balance of the world, and will also bring uncertainty to NATO. Some member countries may be compromised in fulfilling their relevant commitments, and NATO's status may be marginalized.

Some analysts said that the United States has no intention of playing the role of "world police", which is an inevitable phenomenon of the world's transition to multi polarization, not a temporary phenomenon brought about by Trump himself. According to today's Russian report, Putin said that Russia's position on building a "European army" was to some extent "consistent with France", saying "this is a positive process, which can strengthen the trend of world multipolarization".

The Guardian and other media believe that, for staunch European common defenders, the UK, which has one of the best armed forces in Europe, has not been an activist in the establishment of a real "EU army" from the beginning. The complete departure of the UK may be an important opportunity for the establishment of the EU army.

The time has come for the European continent to assume its own security. The German "Time" weekly reported that. According to Agence France Presse, the EU will significantly increase its defense budget after 2021, allocating 13 billion euros in seven years for the research and development of new military equipment.

From declaration to action, EU defense cooperation still has a long way to go. Countries should not only follow the trend, eliminate differences and make breakthroughs; More importantly, we should shoulder our responsibilities and safeguard world peace and stability.

"Europe is currently in a period of strategic confusion. In the long run, the goal of defense cooperation should respect the multilateral system within the framework of the United Nations and meet the real needs of the international community. For example, political and diplomatic solutions should be given priority instead of hasty foreign intervention. Unilateral foreign military intervention to demonstrate security and defense capabilities may exacerbate the already volatile international and regional situation. " Cui Hongjian believes that the EU should think carefully, turn its will into responsible action, try to balance the strength of hard and soft, and avoid moving from one extreme to the other.

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