EMMANUEL MACRON – Page 9

âUnconstitutionalâ: Neutral Austria wants no part of European army proposed by Macron, Merkel

An Austrian army soldier poses with a Steyr AUG A2 Commando assault rifle. © Reuters / Heinz-Peter Bader

If Germany and France get their wish of developing a European army, Austria wants no part of it. The defense minister’s office said it would opt out, as it would conflict with Vienna’s constitution and neutrality.

Macron wants ‘real European army’ to combat Russian threat & end reliance on US

Defense Minister Mario Kunasek’s office told Kurier newspaper that while Austria has no details on the army proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, it would still walk away from it because it is “contrary to the Austrian constitutional position” since Austria is neutral.

The idea of a unified European army was proposed by Macron earlier this month, with the French president insisting it is necessary in order to protect the continent from the likes of China, Russia, and “even the United States of America.”

Merkel was quick to put her support behind the proposal, saying that such an army would show the world that “there will never again be war between European nations.”

But US President Donald Trump isn’t so sure about that. He lashed out at the notion after Macron first mentioned it, reminding him that France’s enemy in both World Wars wasn’t the US, China, or Russia – it was Germany.

“They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along,” Trump tweeted.

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Despite the feelings of France, Germany, Austria, or any other EU member states, a European army won’t actually happen, international affairs specialist John Laughland told RT earlier this week.

“The idea of the European army is a complete fiction; there’s never been a European army and there cannot be a European army,” he said, noting that the EU cannot be legally independent from NATO unless it changes its treaties.

However, the European Commission seems to think it’s perfectly possible. A spokesman said the Commission is “delighted” by Macron and Merkel’s backing of the idea. That should perhaps come as no surprise, as Juncker himself put his support behind a European army four years ago.

“We have many times explained how we see these things. This is the Commission that wants Europe to have a meaningful defense identity,” the spokesperson said.

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'They were starting to learn German in Paris before US came along' â Trump taunts Macron

President Trump continued his verbal spat with French leader Emmanuel Macron, taunting the French leader for his country’s losses to Germany in two world wars, and suggesting that Europe needs the US as a saviour.

After returning from Armistice Day commemorations in Paris over the weekend, Trump took to Twitter on Monday to savage the US’ European allies for failing to meet their defense spending targets and leaving America to foot much of NATO’s bill. On Tuesday, the president vented his frustrations again.

“Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia,” Trump tweeted.

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In a radio interview a week before the commemorations in Paris, Macron called for the establishment of an EU army that can defend the continent “without relying only on the United States.”

While Macron once enjoyed a close bond with president Trump, the leaders’ relationship has soured as of late. In a speech on Sunday, Macron emphatically denounced Trump’s brand of nationalism, comparing it to the forces that plunged Europe into conflict in the 20th Century.

“Old demons are resurfacing,” the French president warned. “History sometimes threatens to take its tragic course again and compromise our hope of peace. Let us vow to prioritise peace over everything.”

Macron also stuck close to German Chancellor Angela Merkel – herself a vocal Trump critic – throughout the weekend, with the pair posing in an embrace at the unveiling of a plaque near Compiegne, where Germany officially surrendered 100 years previously.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel hold hands in Compiegne, France on November 10, 2018. © Reuters / Philippe Wojazer

Whether Trump’s Tuesday tweet was meant as a jibe at Merkel and Macron’s closeness or not is unclear, but the president’s insistence that Europe pays its NATO dues is a call that he has voiced since he hit the campaign trail three years ago.

Trump fires back at European leaders after damp reception in France

At present, only five NATO member states – the US, UK, Greece, Estonia, and Poland – allocate two percent of their GDP to defense spending, a requirement for membership. In 2017, the US spent $686 billion on defense, over double the expenditure of all 28 other states combined.

While Macron is now in Trump’s firing line over defense spending, the US president had singled out Germany in the runup to a NATO summit in Brussels in July. As well as savaging Merkel’s government for spending just over 1.2 percent of its GDP on defense, Trump said that Germany is “totally captive to Russia,” referring to its reliance on Russian gas.

While the US underwrites most of Europe’s defense bill, more EU leaders than Macron have expressed discomfort at relying on Trump in recent months. Liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt – a long-time advocate for a federal Europe – echoed Macron’s comments on Saturday, when he tweeted that Europe cannot be “unprepared for the America First Policy.”

The idea of an integrated EU army might make Macron and Merkel excited, but it has been criticized by more people than just Trump. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded to Macron’s radio interview by warning the French president not to take over NATO’s job.

“Two World Wars and a Cold War taught us the importance of doing things together,” he said at a conference in Berlin on Monday. “The reality is that we need one strong and capable command structure, we can’t divide those resources in two.”

Tag: EMMANUEL MACRON

‘Unconstitutional’: Neutral Austria wants no part of European army proposed by Macron, Merkel

If Germany and France get their wish of developing a European army, Austria wants no part of it. The defense minister’s office said it would opt out, as it would conflict with Vienna’s constitution and neutrality.

‘They were starting to learn German in Paris before US came along’ – Trump taunts Macron

President Trump continued his verbal spat with French leader Emmanuel Macron, taunting the French leader for his country’s losses to Germany in two world wars, and suggesting that Europe needs the US as a saviour.