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Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer says the EU needs more independence but will still depend on the US.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | Carsten Koall/Getty Images
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer doubled down Tuesday on her assertion that Europe must continue to rely on U.S. security guarantees, citing “sobering facts” in a response to criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Kramp-Karrenbauer had become embroiled in an unusual public spat with Macron after the latter, in an interview with Le Grand Continent published Monday, criticized her over an op-ed in POLITICO in which she had argued that “Europe still needs America.”
The French president said that he “profoundly” disagrees with Kramp-Karrenbauer’s position and described her argument as “a historical misinterpretation,” claiming that German Chancellor Angela Merkel doesn’t agree either.
In a keynote speech on security policy Tuesday, Kramp-Karrenbauer tried to calm tensions by saying she agrees with Macron that Europe must do more to look after itself. “Only if we take our own security seriously, America will do the same. The French president has just stated this. And I agree with him,” she said.
Yet the defense minister did not back down on her core argument — her insistence that the EU has no choice but to depend on the U.S. as a close partner. “For the foreseeable future” the U.S. will remain “the most important ally in security and defense policy,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told the German army university in Hamburg in a virtual speech.
“Without the nuclear and conventional capabilities of the U.S., Germany and Europe cannot protect themselves. These are the sobering facts,” she added.
Kramp-Karrenbauer’s speech repeated, and defended, many arguments made during a previous speech in October as well as in the POLITICO op-ed in early November, in which the minister had argued that “illusions of European strategic autonomy must come to an end” because “Europeans will not be able to replace America’s crucial role as a security provider.”
Strategic autonomy is a concept championed by Macron, who argues the EU should become more powerful on the world stage and able to operate independently in a wide range of areas, from military operations to industrial policy — especially since the U.S. is increasingly shifting its focus from Europe to Asia.
“The idea of a strategic autonomy for Europe goes too far if it feeds the illusion that we could guarantee security, stability and prosperity in Europe without NATO and without the U.S.,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told her audience.
She also referred to a speech by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier last week, who had warned that relying exclusively on military protection from the U.S. “would drive Europe into division” — seemingly alluding to the fact that French or Italian militaries, for example, might not be able or willing to defend the Baltic states against potential aggression from Russia as NATO and the U.S. currently do.
But Kramp-Karrenbauer said that Germany and France are united in wanting to increase Europe’s military capability.
“Germany and France want the Europeans to be able to act independently and effectively in the future when it matters,” she said. “We need the ability, in the event of a situation in which, for example, interests between the U.S. and Europe differ, that we can then potentially take action ourselves, even without the concrete support of the American side.”
Yet, “this is something completely different from believing that a European army — however it might be set up and composed — can keep America completely out of Europe and replace America completely,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.
“We want Europe to be a strong partner for the United States on an equal footing and not a protegé in need of help,” she added.
www.politico.eu
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | Carsten Koall/Getty Images
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer doubled down Tuesday on her assertion that Europe must continue to rely on U.S. security guarantees, citing “sobering facts” in a response to criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Kramp-Karrenbauer had become embroiled in an unusual public spat with Macron after the latter, in an interview with Le Grand Continent published Monday, criticized her over an op-ed in POLITICO in which she had argued that “Europe still needs America.”
The French president said that he “profoundly” disagrees with Kramp-Karrenbauer’s position and described her argument as “a historical misinterpretation,” claiming that German Chancellor Angela Merkel doesn’t agree either.
In a keynote speech on security policy Tuesday, Kramp-Karrenbauer tried to calm tensions by saying she agrees with Macron that Europe must do more to look after itself. “Only if we take our own security seriously, America will do the same. The French president has just stated this. And I agree with him,” she said.
Yet the defense minister did not back down on her core argument — her insistence that the EU has no choice but to depend on the U.S. as a close partner. “For the foreseeable future” the U.S. will remain “the most important ally in security and defense policy,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told the German army university in Hamburg in a virtual speech.
“Without the nuclear and conventional capabilities of the U.S., Germany and Europe cannot protect themselves. These are the sobering facts,” she added.
Kramp-Karrenbauer’s speech repeated, and defended, many arguments made during a previous speech in October as well as in the POLITICO op-ed in early November, in which the minister had argued that “illusions of European strategic autonomy must come to an end” because “Europeans will not be able to replace America’s crucial role as a security provider.”
Strategic autonomy is a concept championed by Macron, who argues the EU should become more powerful on the world stage and able to operate independently in a wide range of areas, from military operations to industrial policy — especially since the U.S. is increasingly shifting its focus from Europe to Asia.
“The idea of a strategic autonomy for Europe goes too far if it feeds the illusion that we could guarantee security, stability and prosperity in Europe without NATO and without the U.S.,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told her audience.
She also referred to a speech by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier last week, who had warned that relying exclusively on military protection from the U.S. “would drive Europe into division” — seemingly alluding to the fact that French or Italian militaries, for example, might not be able or willing to defend the Baltic states against potential aggression from Russia as NATO and the U.S. currently do.
But Kramp-Karrenbauer said that Germany and France are united in wanting to increase Europe’s military capability.
“Germany and France want the Europeans to be able to act independently and effectively in the future when it matters,” she said. “We need the ability, in the event of a situation in which, for example, interests between the U.S. and Europe differ, that we can then potentially take action ourselves, even without the concrete support of the American side.”
Yet, “this is something completely different from believing that a European army — however it might be set up and composed — can keep America completely out of Europe and replace America completely,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.
“We want Europe to be a strong partner for the United States on an equal footing and not a protegé in need of help,” she added.
German defense minister to Macron: EU depends on US security guarantee
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer says the EU needs more independence but will still depend on the US.
