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EUROPEAN UNION

Merkel calls for a ‘real, true’ European army

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday made a clear call for a future European army, in an apparent rebuke to US President Donald Trump who has called such proposals "very insulting".

Published: 13 November 2018 16:26 CET
Merkel calls for a 'real, true' European army
Merkel speaking on Tuesday at the European Parliament in

Addressing European MEPs on her vision for the future of Europe, Merkel also called for a European Security Council that would centralise defence and security policy on the continent.

“What is really important, if we look at the developments of the past year, is that we have to work on a vision of one day creating a real, true European army,” Merkel told a session of European Parliament, drawing applause and some boos.

Merkel added that the proposal could be run in parallel to trans-Atlantic  cooperation within the NATO military alliance, but that “only a stronger Europe is going to defend Europe”. 

SEE ALSO: EU defence efforts musn't hurt transatlantic bond: NATO chief in Berlin

“Europe must take our fate into our own hands if we want to protect our community,” she added.

Merkel also said: “I will propose the establishment of a European Security  Council with a rotating presidency.”

Merkel's call came as Trump again mocked French President Emmanuel Macron for his own suggestion to create a European army, a proposal that Washington fears could overshadow the NATO alliance last week, Trump slammed the idea in a tweet as “very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidises greatly!”

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday that any European army “will have to align with NATO forces” and not be in opposition to or competition with US forces.

'Deep wound'

Merkel's ambition for Europe came just days after she announced she would 
stand down after her term in office in 2021, weakened in Germany by her 
migrant policy.

In 2015, Merkel in a bold move kept open German borders to a mass influx of 
refugees, drawing the ire of EU partners in eastern Europe who refused to 
follow suit.

In her speech, Merkel indirectly defended her policy.

Europe “cannot be successful” without “European solidarity”, she said, adding that her government “took far too long to realise the issue of refugees was an issue for the whole of Europe and not just Germany.”

“Tolerance is the soul of Europe that is an essential component of what makes us Europeans,” she said.

On Brexit, Merkel called Britain's departure from the EU “a deep wound” as she thanked EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, in attendance in Strasbourg.

“We are all realising that it is ever more difficult to find a balanced outcome,” she said.

Member comments

  1. NATO is no longer viable as a defense of Europe. Too many changes have taken place since the end of World War Two. A more centralized European approach is needed, without the United States as the anchor. Germany, France and Poland, being the larger of the current European states, should take the United States place as anchors for a more unified European Defense Command. But with that comes responsibility. Germany and Poland would have to renounce their non-nuclear stance on both weapons and weapon delivery systems, including having their navies become effective world response fleets, capable of making sure the nuclear threat, doesn’t have a chance to get close. No more restrictions on troop levels, and delivery systems (i.e. tanks, planes cruise missiles etc.). Other states would have to be OK with Germany being it’s Pre-WW2 strength again. In peace of coarse.

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BREXIT

OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

The EU has drawn up plans to make it easier for non-EU citizens to gain longterm EU residency so they can move more easily around the bloc, but Italy-based citizens' rights campaigner Clarissa Killwick says Brits who moved to the EU before Brexit are already losing out.

Published: 8 December 2023 14:34 CET
OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

With all the talk about the EU long-term residency permit and the proposed improvements there is no mention that UK citizens who are Withdrawal Agreement “beneficiaries” are currently being left out in the cold.

The European Commission has stated that we can hold multiple statuses including the EU long-term permit (Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can in theory acquire EU-wide long-term resident status if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years) but in reality it is just not happening.

This effectively leaves Brits locked into their host countries while other third country nationals can enjoy some mobility rights. As yet, in Italy, it is literally a question of the computer saying no if someone tries to apply.

The lack of access to the EU long-term permit to pre-Brexit Brits is an EU-wide issue and has been flagged up to the European Commission but progress is very slow.

READ ALSO: EU government settle on rules for how non-EU citizens could move around Europe

My guess is that few UK nationals who already have permanent residency status under the Withdrawal Agreement are even aware of the extra mobility rights they could have with the EU long-term residency permit – or do not even realise they are two different things.

Perhaps there won’t be very large numbers clamouring for it but it is nothing short of discrimination not to make it accessible to British people who’ve built their lives in the EU.

They may have lost their status as EU citizens but nothing has changed concerning the contributions they make, both economically and socially.

An example of how Withdrawal Agreement Brits in Italy are losing out

My son, who has lived almost his whole life here, wanted to study in the Netherlands to improve his employment prospects.

Dutch universities grant home fees rather than international fees to holders of an EU long-term permit. The difference in fees for a Master’s, for example, is an eye-watering €18,000. He went through the application process, collecting the requisite documents, making the payments and waited many months for an appointment at the “questura”, (local immigration office).

On the day, it took some persuading before they agreed he should be able to apply but then the whole thing was stymied because the national computer system would not accept a UK national. I am in no doubt, incidentally, that had he been successful he would have had to hand in his WA  “carta di soggiorno”.

This was back in February 2022 and nothing has budged since then. In the meantime, it is a question of pay up or give up for any students in the same boat as my son. There is, in fact, a very high take up of the EU long-term permit in Italy so my son’s non-EU contemporaries do not face this barrier.

Long-term permit: The EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non- EU nationals 

Completing his studies was stalled by a year until finally his Italian citizenship came through after waiting over 5 years.  I also meet working adults in Italy with the EU long-term permit who use it for work purposes, such as in Belgium and Germany, and for family reunification.  

Withdrawal agreement card should double up as EU long-term residency permit

A statement that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries should be able to hold multiple statuses is not that easy to find. You have to scroll quite far down the page on the European Commission’s website to find a link to an explanatory document. It has been languishing there since March 2022 but so far not proved very useful.

It has been pointed out to the Commission that the document needs to be multilingual not just in English and “branded” as an official communication from the Commission so it can be used as a stand-alone. But having an official document you can wave at the immigration authorities is going to get you nowhere if Member State governments haven’t acknowledged that WA beneficiaries can hold multiple statuses and issue clear guidance and make sure systems are modified accordingly.

I can appreciate this is no mean feat in countries where they do not usually allow multiple statuses or, even if they do, issue more than one residency card. Of course, other statuses we should be able to hold are not confined to EU long-term residency, they should include the EU Blue Card, dual nationality, family member of an EU citizen…

Personally, I do think people should be up in arms about this. The UK and EU negotiated an agreement which not only removed our freedom of movement as EU citizens, it also failed to automatically give us equal mobility rights to other third country nationals. We are now neither one thing nor the other.

It would seem the only favour the Withdrawal Agreement did us was we didn’t have to go out and come back in again! Brits who follow us, fortunate enough to get a visa, may well pip us at the post being able to apply for EU long-term residency as clearly defined non-EU citizens.

I have been bringing this issue to the attention of the embassy in Rome, FCDO and the European Commission for three years now. I hope we will see some movement soon.

Finally, there should be no dragging of heels assuming we will all take citizenship of our host countries. Actually, we shouldn’t have to, my son was fortunate, even though it took a long time. Others may not meet the requirements or wish to give up their UK citizenship in countries which do not permit dual nationality.  

Bureaucratic challenges may seem almost insurmountable but why not simply allow our Withdrawal Agreement permanent card to double up as the EU long-term residency permit.

Clarissa Killwick,

Since 2016, Clarissa has been a citizens’ rights campaigner and advocate with the pan-European group, Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
She is co-founder and co-admin of the FB group in Italy, Beyond Brexit – UK citizens in Italy.

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