On independence – Der Spiegel interviewing EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell:

‘DER SPIEGEL: The EU is supplying a neighboring country at war with weapons. It is allowing thousands of refugees to enter without major formalities. It is jointly imposing economic sanctions that will also hit its member countries themselves. And all that is taking place at lightning speed and without any major bickering. Is the war the external shock the EU needed to move forward on the road to becoming a global player?

Borrell: It is certainly a shock, like the coronavirus. But unlike the pandemic, the war against Ukraine did not come as a complete surprise. For years, it has been said that only a united EU is capable of holding its own on the world stage, ensuring its security and standing up to the growing number of autocrats. Instead, however, the EU has continued to cut back on its defense spending. Even events such as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did not change this. Europe has abdicated its responsibilities militarily. After the Cold War, we cashed in on the peace dividend that also enabled us to achieve European integration and, in a sense, put it into our social security rather than our physical security.
DER SPIEGEL: That appears to be changing right now. Germany, for example, wants to spend a one-off 100 billion euros on defense and could even this year meet the goal agreed to in 2014 to spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product on the defense budget, a move German politicians had said was impossible for years.
Borrell: It would be naive to believe the EU could meet future challenges without strengthening its capabilities. Sure it was comfortable to live under the American defense shield. But it also made us dependent. In Europe, many believed that this kind of peace could last forever. That is probably over now. The U.S. is right to demand that we take on more responsibility in terms of defense policy.’

(…)

‘DER SPIEGEL: What might a solution look like? Borrell: It is too early to tell. Only one thing is certain: We cannot and will not sacrifice Ukraine.’

Read the interview here.

Ah, those dreamers who thought that ‘this kind of peace’ could last forever. The EU appeared to be such a dreamer not too long ago, but that’s besides the point.

And what does it mean that we cannot and will not sacrifice Ukraine? That Ukraine becomes a second Afghanistan?

Despite everything I’m skeptical that the EU is now willing to fight its own wars.
For many reasons, the willingness to shed the blood of its own soldiers is in the EU largely absent.