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Turkish expert: EU wants to get rid of US hegemony

Türkiye Materials 21 November 2018 14:40 (UTC +04:00)
The idea of creating a single European army is connected with the fact that the EU wants to get rid of US hegemony.
Turkish expert: EU wants to get rid of US hegemony

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21

By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:

The idea of creating a single European army is connected with the fact that the EU wants to get rid of US hegemony, UNESCO Cultural Diplomacy, Governance and Education Chair Holder, Director of Diplomatic and Strategic Studies Center in Paris, Turkish expert Naciye Selin Senocak told Trend.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said that a single European army is required to be allies, rather than vassals of the US.

The French president also stressed that in order to reduce dependence on the US and anyone else, France must make more efforts, both to ensure its own security and security of Europe as a whole.

Commenting on this fact, the expert stressed that last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a conference of the European Parliament entitled “The Future of Europe”, also made a similar, but even stronger statement saying that “only strong EU will be able to protect Europe”.

”Despite France and Germany have common views on this issue, Dutch Defense Minister Anck Beyuveld said that this statement is "groundless" and the army of his country is committed to partnership within NATO,” she added.

“The threats of terrorism, the fight against organized crime, regional problems, the refugee crisis and cyberattacks force the EU to develop new strategies,” Senocak said.

The expert added that despite some EU countries perceive Russia as a threat, on the contrary, France is taking steps to create and strengthen strategic cooperation with Moscow.

"As is known, an increase in customs duties between the US and the EU, as well as the fact that the EU did not respond to US appeals for the renewal of sanctions against Iran, led to the beginning of an economic war and loss of trust between the EU and the US," Senocak said.

“If one thoroughly analyzes the statements made by the French and German sides, it is possible to see that the idea of creating a single European army has appeared as a result of the desire to overcome dependence on the US in the defense industry,” she said.

Senocak stressed that the EU countries and, in particular, France and Germany also intend to strengthen their defense industry and thereby increase the supply of military products to other EU countries.

The expert does not exclude that another reason for creating a European army is related to the fact that European countries are afraid that in case of a real threat, the NATO alliance will be unable to ensure the EU security.

“Until the EU countries come to a common opinion on this issue and each country acts proceeding from its own interests, the creation of a European army will be a very complicated issue,” Senocak said.

“For example, Belgium, which shares a similar opinion with the Netherlands regarding the creation of a European army, instead of buying Rafale military aircraft at a more reasonable price, acquired 34 US F-35 fighters at 3.6 billion euros,” she said. “Belgium’s such move was considered as betrayal in a number of countries."

“In the EU each country has its own unique national culture, as well as defense and military strategies,” she said. “A lot of efforts and long work are required to overcome all this and create a single European army.”

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