Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has called for a group of EU states to develop a military force capable of reacting to crises around the world. He said the bloc needs a flexible defense policy. A group EU nations should form a "pioneering group" to deal with issues of European security and defense, Fischer said Tuesday, July 28, at the presentation of a European Council on Foreign Relations study. "We must recognize the reality of a 'multi-speed Europe' on defense," said Fischer, one of the council's co-chairs. "The reluctant should not be bullied, but neither must they hold the others back." Fischer added that the bloc needed to take a "flexible approach" to cooperation between states on key issues in order to move forward after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, which foresees creating a new post to steer European foreign and security policy.
A group EU nations should form a "pioneering group" to deal with issues of European security and defense, Fischer said Tuesday, July 28, at the presentation of a European Council on Foreign Relations study.
"We must recognize the reality of a 'multi-speed Europe' on defense," said Fischer, one of the council's co-chairs. "The reluctant should not be bullied, but neither must they hold the others back."
Fischer added that the bloc needed to take a "flexible approach" to cooperation between states on key issues in order to move forward after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, which foresees creating a new post to steer European foreign and security policy.
Of course, there's peace-keeping. But as we've often seen, you either enforce a peace (with weapons) or you don't have a peace at all. And the UN might have views about that cos russia and china often have vested interests in countries where we want to develop vested interests ourselves have humanitarian intervention.
But of course, finally this is a military man who sees all political issues as military problems requiring military solutions without necesarily undestanding that military solutions are meaningless without civilian political control of purpose. Something the US needs to learn quickly methinks. keep to the Fen Causeway
