Even in the Afghan crisis, the EU reveals all its ambitions and hypocrisy
The outbreak of the Afghan crisis has once again brought up the many problems facing America, NATO and transatlantic relations in a phase of continuous change in international politics. If the leadership of Joe Biden – the man appointed to "bring Washington back to the world" – has been put in serious crisis by the images coming from Kabul, Brussels has once again shown all its evanescence in a theater it has seen for 20 years the countries of the European Union support the US in the disaster that brought the Taliban back to power.
At first, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell – the most derisive diplomat in the world – did not grasp the change that saw the Taliban recognized as interlocutors by NATO and the US Presidency with the agreements of 29 February 2020, defining the Koranic students "the same as always" and focusing on improving their English. Although Baradar and his followers always advocate the same obscurantist and misogynistic ideology, it is imperative to point out that today, unlike 20 years ago, the US is relating to the new and constituting an Afghan regime, as demonstrated by the meeting – not so secret – that took place between the leaders of the Taliban and those of the CIA.
At this point, not being able to put any military option or real diplomatic pressure on the field, Brussels has revived two of its mantras : the humanitarian theme, with the constant attempt to appear "better" than its "warmongering" allies, and in particular the Americans who they created the confusion through which the Taliban reemerged; and that, now over decades, on the need to equip itself with a European defense and army on the part of the Union.
In the first case, the EU has faced a meager figure: the Slovenian presidency has abruptly curbed all attempts to relocate the Afghan refugees fleeing Kabul in the short term. It was joined by Austria, Poland and Hungary, to the chorus of "let's avoid repeating the mistakes made with the refugees of the war in Syria". If at first the dominant rhetoric was to "save women and children from the Taliban", once the excitement of the moment passed, more cynical political reflections have obviously imposed themselves, and have shifted the question to the security aspect.
Refugees move when they are in Afghanistan: when they arrive in Europe they worry and create consensus for anti-system and anti-European movements. A scenario that the Brussels elites want to avoid. The defeat became even more evident when the hated British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced an overnight reception program for 20,000 Afghans, of which 5,000 already this year. Being able to decide alone on the migration policy that suits you best has certainly favored the speed of the London government's choice.
A few days after this mockery, we witnessed the most classic of déja vu : from the pages of Corriere della Sera the pro-European journalist Federico Fubini interviewed Borrell himself, who re-proposed the theme of a European army to defend the continent from retreat of the USA and the troubled state of NATO. In truth, something has moved on that front, with an initial allocation in the Multi-year Financial Framework for the six-year period 2021-2017 in favor of policies aimed at building a European defense. A project strongly desired by France, whose Europeanism, unlike our own, is embodied in an acknowledgment that the EU is a multiplier of the national power of Paris, not a replacement for it (a project that does not take into account , moreover, of the fact that the US does want to leave Afghanistan but have no intention of giving up Europe as they did with Kabul).
Yes, because it should be clearly stated that in order to create a European army then, this army should be of some use. Are we really willing to see “our boys” go to die in Afghanistan, Iraq or the Sahel? Judging by the resonance with which the media and public opinion deal with the news of the fallen Italians – but not only – it certainly seems not. America itself, the American taxpayer itself, seem increasingly reluctant to pay for the wars of the US superpower both in financial terms – wars cost – and in terms of loss of life. Let alone a Europe that for years has been blessed with wanting to create a sort of Kantian “perpetual peace”, lacking the military means to support international missions and focusing everything on the primacy of trade and the economy in an ahistorical present.
There are also geopolitical implications that should not be underestimated. A European army could only be a French-led army, the only EU power with a force de frappe . A European army would necessarily imply the constitution of a real German army, integrated with that of Brussels. Finally, a European army would imply a significant transfer of power by the states to Brussels, a harbinger of the formation of a single European government. A dream that seems more disconnected from the current geopolitical realities and dynamics.
Even in the Afghan crisis, Brussels spoke an unrealistic, evanescent language, incapable of affecting reality. He preferred to bask in the defeat of his US ally – but how, then? Hadn't we been told that Biden was in love and good? – in order not to have to admit his own political and military impotence. To be able to play the card of humanitarian intervention, politics was lacking, and to be able to play the card of politics, the State with its military articulations was missing. Many attribute European impotence precisely to the powers that the States still keep to themselves and think that everything will be resolved with the birth of the United States of Europe. Which shows how the ambition embraces the whole project.
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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL http://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/anche-nella-crisi-afghana-lue-rivela-tutte-le-sue-velleita-e-ipocrisie/ on Wed, 25 Aug 2021 03:58:00 +0000.