Is European defense a chimera, synonymous with maintaining dependence on the United States, as Eric Zemmour maintains? From the extreme right to the extreme left, the denial of European defence, and in the same spirit of NATO, is the same. What is common is the demand for an entrenched and supposedly totally independent France. This is to forget that, despite its status as a permanent member of the Security Council endowed with nuclear weapons and military projection capabilities, France is a middle power, representing 1% of the world’s population and 4% of the world’s GNP. Faced with the imperial dreams of the continent-states, the return of war in Europe and the aggressiveness of Russia’s big neighbour, size matters. Unity is strength. France, whose voice carries, finds in the European Union a multiplier of power. Our influence is linked to our membership of the main multilateral bodies. The United Kingdom, which has become almost inaudible on the international scene since Brexit, and having no other choice but to align itself with Washington, is an anti-model in this respect.
NATO came out of its overwhelmed coma and found a reason to be on February 24, 2022, the day of the invasion of Ukraine. Is this the time to get out of integrated military structures, as proposed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, when the Atlantic Alliance provides advanced defense of Europe’s borders and when the vulnerability of a country not covered by the article 5 has been demonstrated? France is also at the forefront in Romania and in the Baltic countries. The European pillar of the Alliance must however be strengthened in order to assert our views and not allow our positions to be dictated by Washington. In this regard, it should be noted that we have maintained the independence of our deterrent force by not participating in the nuclear planning group within the Alliance.
However, NATO cannot become the unsurpassable horizon of European defence, especially since the Europeans know very well that, if the invasion of Ukraine has brought the United States back to Europe, Washington’s absolute priority is its rivalry with Beijing. President Biden has also agreed, in a joint press release published after an explanation with the President of the Republic on the Aukus contract, to affirm his support for European defense in complementarity with NATO.
Seizures are electric shocks
European defence, part of strategic autonomy or sovereignty which goes well beyond that, is a long-term objective in this process called European construction. Sections have been completed, others, such as the defence, are under development. In this respect, crises constitute electroshocks. Coming out of this postmodern universe where conventional war seemed unthinkable, Germany understood that it had to rearm and immediately decided to top up the defense budget with 100 billion euros and to respect the commitment made at the summit of the NATO in Cardiff to devote 2% of its GNP to defense spending. If its reflex to acquire F35s remains very Atlanticist, the joint construction of the aircraft of the future, the Scaf, can give hope that the fighting spirit and the rules of engagement can evolve. It is significant that Denmark, which enjoyed a right of withdrawal, decided to organize a referendum to join the European defense project.
The European Union has gradually acquired crisis management structures and instruments. She has acquired highly valued operational experience in the Balkans and Africa. A defense fund has been created. It has just adopted a strategic compass which defines the terms of the common threat, decides to consolidate the command and control structures, and to develop a rapid reaction force. It took the decision, unprecedented and in record time, to release a fifth of the funds of the Peace Facility, i.e. 1 billion euros, to deliver arms to enable Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression.
Even if the horizon is not immediate, the sense of urgency and the determination to build a European defense are there. The chimera would be that of a powerful and independent France in sovereignist isolation.