*BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday made a clear call fora future European army, in an apparent rebuke to US President Donald Trumpwho has called such proposals “very insulting”.*
Addressing European MEPs on her vision for the future of Europe, Merkelalso called for a European Security Council that would centralise defenceand security policy on the continent.
Merkel’s call came as Trump again mocked French President Emmanuel Macronfor his own suggestion to create a European army, a proposal thatWashington fears could overshadow the NATO alliance.
Last week, Trump slammed the idea in a tweet as “very insulting, butperhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the USsubsidises greatly!”
“What is really important, if we look at the developments of the past year,is that we have to work on a vision of one day creating a real, trueEuropean army,” Merkel told a session of European Parliament, drawingapplause and some boos.
Merkel added that the proposal could be run in parallel to trans-Atlanticcooperation within the NATO military alliance, but underscored that “only astronger Europe is going to defend Europe”.
“Europe must take our fate into our own hands if we want to protect ourcommunity,” she said.
Merkel also said: “I will propose the establishment of a European SecurityCouncil with a rotating presidency,” a proposal she first made last summerbut failed to gain traction.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday that anyEuropean army “will have to align with NATO forces” and not be inopposition to or competition with US forces.* ‘Deep wound’*
Merkel’s ambition for Europe came just days after she announced she wouldstand down after her term in office in 2021, weakened in Germany by hermigrant policy.
In 2015, Merkel in a bold move kept open German borders to a mass influx ofrefugees, drawing the ire of EU partners in eastern Europe who refused tofollow suit.
In her speech, Merkel indirectly defended her policy.
Europe “cannot be succesful” without “European solidarity”, she said,adding that her government “took far too long to realise the issue ofrefugees was an issue for the whole of Europe and not just Germany.”
“Tolerance is the soul of Europe that is an essential component of whatmakes us Europeans,” she said.
On Brexit, Merkel called Britain’s departure from the EU “a deep wound” asshe thanked EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, in attendance in Strasbourg.
“We are all realising that it is ever more difficult to find a balancedoutcome,” she said. – APP/AFP