Putin just made the case for a European army

Four years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron, newly arrived in office, proposed a European Defense Force — a counterweight to a NATO alliance he and increasingly other EU leaders feared was being effectively held hostage by the United States and especially Donald Trump.

To cope with all of this, Europe now intends to act, in unison and with determination, to build a powerful military-industrial structure that can spring into action whenever and wherever the collective or even individual interests may be threatened.

Until now, Europe’s defense relied on a curious mix of NATO power — for the nations in the alliance — to national armies of every conceivable level of competence and funding. All these report, largely, to a national commander. Now, under the Strategic Compass, there will be a single unified command. There is also anticipated to be a close partnership with NATO, the United Nations and the G-7 that includes Canada and Japan, according to the blueprint. All EU nations, NATO and non-NATO alike, will be part of the Strategic Compass.

While Ukraine is not a member of the EU, though it is an aspirant, there is nothing in the Strategic Compass that in theory — unlike NATO — would bar any such European armed forces from acting, should the bloc believe its security is being challenged. …

With the drafting process beginning two years ago and accelerating into today’s fifth and final draft, ballooning along the way from reportedly 28 pages to 47 pages, it’s now become part of a broader pattern of making Putin pay. And a strong, united Europe with the military muscle to back it up is likely more than enough payment.

It seems likely that the Security Compass will fill some critical holes in Europe’s overall ability to defend itself — and the broad, often disparate interests of its 27-member nations. A handful of these, including Cyprus, Finland and Malta, are not in NATO and unlikely to be welcomed into the organization in the foreseeable future.