A Franco-German Defense Deal for Europe

Claudia Major

Together, France and Germany can live up to the daunting responsibility of coordinating their growing defense budgets in a way that benefits Europe.

• March 23, 2017 | http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=68370&utm_source=rssemail&utm_medium=email&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWXpSaE1ESm1aRFZoWkRrMSIsInQiOiJzeTZpdUUrNHJ6ZmNTbHUydW8wQlU0RWNOeWRRZVBjWkd3RjRicFk4OTRSU2grQkFpRFlyYU9YS09pRk01TDUyOE1HOUQ0QmdQdHB0Nkc0UzJnVk16TmZGVFZIbzBpcjdjOFJFc0VtTWdISjVocmxTcDZuRWEyMmtvNGtHT0U5dSJ9

A new deal for Europe: that is what French presidential election front-runner Emmanuel Macron called for during his March 16 visit to Berlin. Aside from the fact that French politicians are traditionally fond of grand designs, he has a point. Europe needs a new deal, particularly on defense. And France and Germany should take the lead.
The opportunity for cooperation is born out of distress and necessity, not enthusiasm. Citizens’ appetites for more Europe are vanishing, and populist and nationalist movements are giving European grand bargains a hard time. As for defense, Europe has not yet recovered from the double paradigm shift it has experienced since 2014: first, Russia smashed the European security order and brought back the importance of NATO, territorial defense, and deterrence; and second, U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned NATO’s utility and is ready to moderate the U.S. commitment to European security if Europeans don’t show more vigor.
Pressure is therefore mounting on Europeans not only to address external threats—from Russia to the self-proclaimed Islamic State—but also to tackle them alone. Europeans, including Germans, are reacting by refocusing on defense: slowly, they are investing again in equipment and personnel. Most importantly, there is political will to do more. http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=68370&utm_source=rssemail&utm_medium=email&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWXpSaE1ESm1aRFZoWkRrMSIsInQiOiJzeTZpdUUrNHJ6ZmNTbHUydW8wQlU0RWNOeWRRZVBjWkd3RjRicFk4OTRSU2grQkFpRFlyYU9YS09pRk01TDUyOE1HOUQ0QmdQdHB0Nkc0UzJnVk16TmZGVFZIbzBpcjdjOFJFc0VtTWdISjVocmxTcDZuRWEyMmtvNGtHT0U5dSJ9