Belgian diplomat: EU is economic giant but political dwarf
The European Union must build up its own defense capabilities to strengthen its political role.
This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Zenon Koval, a former Belgian diplomat, member of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Ukrainians, and political advisor to the European Congress of Ukrainians and the Association of Ukrainians in Belgium.
“Because it is largely dependent on the United States in the defense sphere, the European Union, unfortunately, is not yet capable of doing more than expressing concern, for example, when it comes to the easing of anti-Russian sanctions by the American administration,” Koval believes.
“I often say that the European Union is an economic giant but a political dwarf,” he said, adding that the reason lies in the lack of a genuine defense capability of its own.
He acknowledges that the EU is beginning work on a joint defense project, but the process is a long one.
“They missed their chance back in 1954, when they had the opportunity to create a European Defense Union. But France prevented that from happening. Europe would be completely different today if the project had been launched back then,” Zenon Koval believes.
He also acknowledges that the creation of a new position in the European Commission—the European Commissioner for Defense and Space—is already a major innovation in the European system, as defense does not fall within the EU’s remit.
“This European Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, works with economic players in the defense industry in Europe, trying to unify processes. At the same time, he emphasizes the need for ties with Ukraine, including through the creation of joint defense enterprises. He is from Lithuania, and he understands the importance of strengthening EU defense, while knowing how to work with both European and Ukrainian counterparts,” Koval said.
At the same time, Koval emphasized that the main problem remains the long time required to build up European defense, which neither the EU nor Ukraine has…and therefore the Euro-Atlantic connection remains very important.
As reported by Ukrinform, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with the U.S. president this afternoon following a barrage of criticism from Donald Trump, who told Britain that he no longer needed it in a war with Iran.