widthDuring the airlift from Kabul, Brussels had a lot of discussions about Afghanistan: requirements for the Taliban, assistance to countries in the region, and reception locations for local staff. But when asked why Europe could not ensure the safety of the Kabul airport itself, even after the Americans left, the officials just shook their heads: excluded. But why in fact? This controversy has now broken out. “The fact that rich countries in Europe cannot even protect airports like Kabul Airport militarily before the humanitarian evacuation is complete is simply unacceptable,” said Reinhard Bütikofer, a member of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Katja Leikert, a member of the CDU of the Bundestag, said: “In the future, we can ensure that an airport the size of a small town must serve our own interests. Be alone, let the people in Washington take us seriously.”
This is primarily aimed at the EU defense minister. They held an informal meeting near Ljubljana on Thursday. In such meetings, medium and long-term topics are usually discussed in a relaxed manner. This time it is impossible. Everyone knows the disaster in Afghanistan-and what it means for Europe to ensure its own security. “The sober fact about Afghanistan is that we Europeans hardly resist the decision to withdraw the US troops because we cannot afford it because we lack our own capabilities,” the head of the German department Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer wrote on Twitter at the meeting— —This is an amazing fact. Admission. EU Foreign Affairs Representative Jose Puborel, who is also responsible for national defense, said: “I think that after the incident in Afghanistan, we need more European defense. This has never been more obvious than today.”
Borel called for the formation of a 5,000-strong emergency force
But what does this specifically mean? Borrell made it clear in a guest article in The New York Times that he wanted to lead this debate. He recalled a proposal that the ministers had discussed in May: “Initial entry force”, that is, an intervention force of approximately 5,000 people, “quick and strong.” “Helping to ensure airport security under challenging circumstances may be the type of task we will undertake in the future,” Borrell wrote. Fourteen countries initiated a campaign for this in a discussion document exclusively reported by FAZ. The initiative came from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, with smaller countries joining. Except for the Slovenians and Czechs, the eastern states were absent. There are various reservations and, as always, there is concern that Europe may decouple from NATO.
The German side said in the summer that they are working hard to build trust, especially with Poland and the Baltic countries. Because, of course, from Berlin’s point of view, the proposal is not to compete with NATO, but to strengthen NATO’s European pillar. It was pointed out that the French defense minister is now also talking about “complementarity” with the alliance. But is this enough to overcome deep-rooted reservations? On Thursday, the defense ministers of these countries declined to comment publicly on Borel’s new reaction force initiative.
