The EU should build its own military after being abandoned by US in Afghanistan says EU President

The European Union will press ahead with plans to develop its own shared military to limit its reliance on the US following the hasty pull-out from Afghanistan according to Ursula Von Der Leyen.

In a self-styled State of the European Union address on Wednesday, European Commission President von der Leyen said that the failure of the government and security forces to repel Taliban insurgents raises troubling questions for the 27-nation bloc, but also for NATO.The President unveiled new plans for the EU to develop its own defence capacities to ensure that it has more freedom to act in future crises, after Joe Biden's decision to withdraw American troops by August 31 forced the hands of EU countries incapable of facing the Taliban alone.

The President concluded by saying France will host an EU defence summit next year to develop the plans.

The scenes of chaos in the final days of Kabul evacuations saw Afghans plunge to their deaths from the sides of military aircraft on take-off and a suicide bombing that killed 169 Afghans and 13 US personnel and encapsulated the end of a two-decade war led by Washington with support from the EU.'Witnessing events unfold in Afghanistan was profoundly painful for all the families of fallen servicemen and servicewomen,' von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

Earlier this month, EU ministers debated creating a standby EU force of around 5,000 troops to deploy in crises like the one at Kabul airport, but the plan faces opposition from some of the 22 EU countries that are also members of NATO, notably countries bordering Russia comforted by US security assurances.

The President went onto declare that the EU must lay the foundations for better collective decision-making and intelligence sharing, make shared operations of the 27 member countries' military equipment more cohesive, and invest in common projects like fighter jets, drones and cyber capacities.

Von der Leyen said that she and French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a summit on European defence when France takes over the bloc's rotating presidency in the first half of 2022.Her call to arms will likely receive backing from many of Europe's most influential states - Macron has long-called for more EU defence autonomy, notably during the turmoil of the Trump administration, while German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said earlier this month the EU should become 'a strategic player to be reckoned with'.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9993731/The-EU-build-military-abandoned-Afghanistan-says-EU-President.html