Warmongers ready to chew what is left of social protection spending

European Parliament, 7th Parliamentary Term, Brussels. AFET, Committee on Foreign Affairs and SEDE, Subcommittee on Security and Defence meeting : Exchange of views with the minister of defence of Belgium (EP Audiovisual Services, 26/09/2013).

Before the EU having even started a serious discussion about the historical issue of political unification or having decided to enact a European Banking Union containing some traces of risk sharing between the haves and have-nots, the forthcoming, “December EU summit must make clear that the European dimension is more relevant in defence and security than ever”. A Parliament Press release issued yesterday says that the “MEPs call for a change of mindset and a boost for European defence”. Of course, the first to profit from this ‘change of mindset’ will be the armament producing countries and companies and naturally, the cost will be shared by all, including the crisis hit countries of the South and the EU jobless millions.

It’s really deplorable to watch the defence and security lobby of Brussels, to have managed to upgrade this policy into the single item on the agenda of the next EU Summit. As if the ongoing bevy of the 28 EU leaders in Brussels having solved any economic and social problems, of the kind that torment the millions of the unemployed youths and the impoverished populations of the south European countries, the arm dealers ask for a bigger chunk.

Unfortunately it’s the MEPs

Unfortunately it’s the MEPs who now promote the idea of more spending on the ‘European defence’. According to this same Press release issued by the European Parliament AFET SEDE – Security and defence Committee, “The European Council meeting in December, the first to be devoted to security and defence since 2008, should take substantive decisions and be the starting point for ongoing discussion at the highest political level, rather than an isolated event”. This is what the MEPs stress in a resolution drafted by Maria Eleni Koppa (S&D, EL), offering recommendations for the next EU Summit.

This same Parliamentary Committee insists that the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) “must be better integrated into the EU’s comprehensive approach to its external policies and the potential of the tools of the Lisbon treaty”. As if it was difficult for everybody to understand that it’s a small group comprising core EU of countries and companies, which promotes the idea of more defence spending, the Press release informs us that “…entrusting a core group of countries with CSDP missions, must be unleashed, MEPs say. They also call for stronger cooperation between the EU and NATO through a complementary approach”.

This Parliament’s inducement for the EU to spend more on armaments surpasses the imagination. The relevant part of the Press release goes like this, “CSDP missions fall short of requirements, in terms of numbers, timeliness and staffing, some MEPs noted”. There is more however, “The EU needs to be able to make decisions more flexibly to avoid delayed responses in crisis scenarios. It also needs a permanent military operational headquarters and adequate early warning and intelligence support”. And they concluded “The summit should also address the issue of the EU battlegroups, which have still never been deployed”.

The target is obviously to widen the part of the EU budget which is actually devoted to the CSDP. As for which will be the enemies against whom the new generation of armaments is going to be used, the ‘close cooperation with NATO’ will provide many. It’s really a joke, to even discuss such ideas, at a time when the EU spends for every unemployed person of the Union seven to eight times less that the resources presently devoted to every European…cow. Consequently, after the cows, the soldiers would come and chew what is left for the jobless millions.

The citizens first

The whole idea is naturally wrapped in a box labelled with the indication, “the EU has to be able to provide security for its citizens”. Presumably, the impoverished taxpayers of the South need urgently more protection from some yet unknown enemies. But not to worry, soon NATO will single out the foes, lurking in the bushes of Africa or hidden in the steppes of central Asia.

For God’s name what else does the future hold for the embattled average European, with its leaders appearing ready to sacrifice his and hers wellbeing to feed the warmongers?