Brussels, 13/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - In two speeches delivered this week, first at the 7th Conference of Berlin on ESDP and then during the Euromil Congress in Brussels, the president of the European Parliament suggested an intermediary stage on the road towards constituting a European army. The long-term goal of both parties to the major coalition in Germany, the constitution of a European army has also been approved by a very large majority of citizens in the European Union. While stressing - with reference to the Irish debate on the Lisbon Treaty - that it will be up to each member state at each stage of the process to choose whether or not it wishes to take part, Hans-Gert Pöttering suggested an intermediary stage called SAFE (Synchronised Armed Forces Europe).
This intermediary stage would make it possible to gradually bring the norms in use in the various national armies closer, beginning with the development of these norms in the context of multinational units such as the Eurocorps and EU Battlegroups (GT-1500). These norms include all questions of a social kind, the covering of medical costs, and rules applicable to families of soldiers deployed in operations. Gradually, this development towards a common status for people coming from different member states could be accompanied by the adoption of joint rules of engagement. To this would finally be added identical levels of equipment and training. Hans-Gert Pöttering stressed the enormous contribution that such a process could make to the cohesion of European troops during operations which are increasingly multinational.
SAFE could be developed in the form of enhanced cooperation, as were the euro and the Schengen zone, explained the European Parliament president, observing that this will leave each member state the choice to take part or not. Citing the example of Belgium, he also called on the armed forces of one EU member state to open up to nationals from other member states. “In the future, it should be possible for an Estonian to serve in the French 'chasseurs alpins' or a Slovenian to fly in the Spanish air force”, he said.
The Berlin Conference for which German Christian Democrat Karl von Wogau is the main initiator, brought together some 1300 participants this year. For European security and defence policy, it is
gradually becoming the equivalent of the Munich Conference on security which takes place very year in February in the Bavarian capital. Euromil federates the social or professional associations of the military at European level. (O.J./transl.jl)