“Mertz is skeptical about Weber’s proposal for a European army for Ukraine and the EU’s peacekeeping role.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: “European Truth” with reference to Politico
Details: Weber has put forward a series of impressive proposals in recent weeks to demonstrate the EU’s greater power on the international stage. In addition to the soldiers operating under the “European flag” in Ukraine, he called for the creation of a single European leader – the unification of the positions of the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.
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Speaking at an informal summit of the EPP in Zagreb, Merz welcomed Weber’s attempts to reform the EU, but noted that these ideas were not an immediate solution to Europe’s problems.
“We have to focus on the tasks before us now,” Mertz said when asked about Weber’s initiatives.
The chancellor added that he did not see a problem in the fact that “we repeatedly raise institutional questions” regarding the strengthening and unification of Europe, and emphasized that “these are questions that need to be discussed again and again.”
However, Merz showed little desire to plunge into the radical European reforms that Weber’s proposals might require. “Achieving changes in the treaties in this European Union with 27 countries is quite a difficult task,” the chancellor said.
He said that this is improving defense capabilities and reducing the continent’s industrial competitiveness.
Although Merz has been cool with Weber’s proposals for a European army, his government has yet to resolve the issue of the participation of German peacekeepers in Ukraine. Although Berlin is not as active as Great Britain and France in raising the issue of the possibility of providing peacekeepers, Mertz emphasized: “We are not ruling anything out in principle.”
Germany also emphasizes that it already acts as a guarantor of regional security on the border with Russia, stationing almost 5,000 military personnel in Lithuania and carrying out airspace protection missions in Eastern Europe.
When asked about Mertz’s skepticism about his proposals, Weber replied: “We are having a dialogue. We are having a discussion.”
Recently, the head of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, called for the creation of a “European NATO”, because, according to him, it is no longer possible to rely unconditionally on the USA.
In response to these statements, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that despite the current course of the administration of US President Donald Trump, the E.U. should not to completely refuse cooperation with the United States in matters of defense.