The Ukraine crisis prompted the European Union to take a 15-year-delayed move toward military independence from NATO and the US umbrella; This indicates a major change in the international balance of power and the map of alliances, according to a report published by Sky News Arabia.
The meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the European Union, on Monday, approved the formation of a force of 5,000 fighters, and an increase in the military spending budget to implement interventions alone by 2025.
According to the EU's foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, the new strategic compass of the EU is not only to respond to the war in Ukraine but also to make Europe militarily stronger.
In his words, "NATO does not provide a solution to the problems facing the European Union."
The Ukraine crisis revealed loopholes in some European armies, including Germany, whose army commander, General Alphonse Mays, announced in February his frustration because the army was “in a bad situation.”
A few days later, Berlin took “revolutionary” decisions to strengthen the army and announced an investment of 100 billion euros in equipment.
At the Versailles summit, early March, French President Emmanuel Macron got the approval of all countries to allocate 2 percent of their budget to the defense side in 2024 to support the establishment of a European army outside the umbrella of NATO and US dependence.
The document of the meeting of the Union’s defense and foreign ministers included the formation of the response force from combat groups that were formed in 2007; it comprises land, sea, and air forces equipped to carry out interventions to evacuate Europeans stranded in Ukraine.
Despite the participation of the EU countries in weapons development projects of about 9.46 billion dollars, and the European Commission financing the European Defense Fund by about one billion euros annually, financial support remains the most important challenge, especially since 80 percent of NATO defense spending comes from non-member states, in addition to the lack of EU countries, in addition to the lack of training capabilities, intelligence gathering, and leadership compared to Washington.
Talking about the European army has been at the fore in European discussions since 2007, amid strong demands for its establishment away from NATO.
The Ukrainian war revived the idea. The formation of the European army did not succeed in the past due to the absence of financial and military capabilities and the desire of Poland and some Baltic countries to continue under the American umbrella.
The European soldier has become a dream like the European currency to provide security, especially since the Ukrainian crisis changed all charters, and supported Macron's idea in the symbolism of the European army, and the military coordination between Paris and Berlin, the most supportive of Europe's military independence.
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