France’s foreign minister is back: Europe must strengthen military cooperation, or risk becoming a vassal of China and the United States
It now appears that European politicians can hardly speak without referencing China and the United States.
Recently, French Foreign Minister Barro stated in an interview that France must pursue military collaboration with other European nations, otherwise it will become a mere appendage to China and the United States.
Barro argued that Europe serves as a force multiplier for France. To label the Franco-German joint fighter project as heretical is profoundly absurd, reflecting a fundamental misunderstanding of how Europe can function as a lever for expanding France’s power and influence.
To be candid, setting aside the banality of Barro’s reliance on a China-U.S. dichotomy—now nearly ubiquitous among European political discourse—the mention of the so-called “Franco-German joint fighter project” (in fact, the FCAS program) borders on striking at an open wound.
The eventual rupture between Germany and France over the FCAS initiative underscores not only the deep divisions within Europe but also reveals the hollowness of the rhetoric surrounding European unity.
Even more ironically, the project’s stagnation has had no connection whatsoever to China or the United States; it stems entirely from internal European disagreements. Indeed, if two of Europe’s largest powers cannot maintain cohesion, the notion of broader European solidarity becomes not just unrealistic but ultimately illusory.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877664230179975/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.