European defense with ‘core’ Germany?

The rapid developments after the Russian invasion of Ukraine shook the waters and set in motion historical developments in both Germany and the EU – where in terms of foreign policy, defense and security, moving from solid lines for decades was previously difficult if not impossible. The foreign and defense ministers of the 27 member states have already agreed on the basic text of the EU “Strategic Compass”, which lays the long-term foundations for a common line of defense and security. It is expected to be approved by European leaders in Brussels later this week.

Under the umbrella of the “Strategic Compass”, a European Rapid Reaction Force will be formed by 2025 with the participation of 5,000 soldiers from various Member States. Germany intends to play a key role in the new unit in the first place, as was evident from the announcement of the German Minister of Defense, Christine Lambrecht, and in fact without delays. Germany wants to move quickly under the weight of the war in Ukraine, providing the EU with the first “core” of the unit – but not a total of 5,000 troops, as the Ministry of Defense hastened to say unfortunate in order to then proceed to the necessary clarification.

Defensive readiness for the coming years

For the German Ministry of Defense, what matters at the moment is to send the message that one European partner is standing by the other. Equally important for Germany is the debate on combining possibilities for co-operation with NATO. For Christine Lambrecht, the show of unity and determination within the EU is considered crucial, not only for the coming weeks and months but probably for the coming years.

It is worth noting that the idea of ​​setting up a rapid reaction unit is not new. The previous version provided for the establishment of a European force of 1,500 soldiers, which would be rotated every six months and thus staffed by different Member States each time. However, even before the war in Ukraine, the problems of gathering sufficient troops were evident.

Lambrecht and the generals

However, the background of Lambrecht’s announcements on Monday is also interesting, according to revelations of Der Spiegel magazine. When Christine Lambrecht unfortunately rushed to speak of “5,000 German soldiers”, there was an immediate uproar within the German army, with feverish emergency consultations and successive phone calls.

According to Spiegel, none of the generals knew anything about this announcement. An hour and a half later, however, came the clarifying tweet from Lambrecht, that a total of 5,000 soldiers will not come from Germany, which will staff only the “core” of this force.

At the height of the circumstances the minister?

In any case, as the German magazine observes, this incident and Lambrecht’s haste to give the “present” with wrong numbers prove for the second time “that it has not yet found its footing in power”. Her statements of “solidarity” with Ukraine, which handed over just 5,000 German helmets, drew similarly critical comments.

One thing is certain, however: with or without unfortunate statements, Germany is at a historic juncture in the field of civil defense and security, which contrasts with the old German Ostpolitik and the red lines of many successive German governments.

The shift was inaugurated on February 27 by Chancellor Olaf Soltz himself in the German parliament, where he announced the supply of weapons to Ukraine – albeit a war zone – an armaments package of 100 billion for the renewal of the German army, as well as an increase in defense spending to 2 % of German GDP.

Dimitra Kyranoudi, Berlin

Source: Deutsche Welle