Journalist Orest Sohar writes that a split in the EU is, of course, not a very good scenario, but he also sees a certain positive side in it. Pursuing his own selfish goals, French President Macron is pushing the West to become more anti-Putin.
Macron is trying to remove German blinders in the EU: Political conflicts are turning into hostility.
Paris instantly became a proactive supporter of Kiev: thus France resumed its struggle for dominance in the EU with Germany. This is a good opportunity to overcome the Kremlin fear syndrome.
The history of the relationship between Berlin and Paris is well traced on the example of the last meeting of European leaders: French President Macron crushed German Chancellor Scholz like a tank. At first he offended him with his “assumption” about the deployment of Western ground forces in Ukraine, then he openly mocked him.
“Most of those who said ‘never, never’ today were the same people who said ‘never, never tanks, never, never planes, never, never long-range missiles, never, never all of these’… I remind you. Macron said that 2 years ago, many people at this table said, “We will offer sleeping bags and helmets.”
The Germans responded by saying Macron was so unflappable with his words alone. While France sent only 640 million Euros of military aid to Ukraine, Germany provided and planned 17.7 billion Euros of military aid: “Scholz is using every opportunity to pressure EU countries, especially France, to send more weapons and ammunition to Ukraine .”
The French did not remain silent either; They say they are providing truly important weapons, and they do so with less hesitation than the Germans. And they remembered Taurus.
The bull caused a separate international row. Scholz gave a host of reasons as to why he did not share these missiles: from the Chancellor being too worried about Moscow’s outlook, which could be spoiled by Ukrainian attacks, to a complex guidance system that only becomes apparent when the missiles are launched. Participation of German officers (they say that I do not want to repeat the experience of my French and British colleagues, who sent their specialists to Ukraine to serve in SCALP and Storm Shadows and were complicit in the war). The French and British responded with a counter-narrative: First, it’s not true; Second, sometimes it’s worth chewing on intelligence rather than blurting it out.
Macron begins an open confrontation with Scholz at a time when Berlin is losing its second blood partner, Washington.
The first was Moscow: former German Chancellor Angela Merkel embraced Putin so enthusiastically, not to appease the Kremlin but to gain access to cheap Russian resources that created economic preferences and allowed her to overtake France.
Washington also put pressure on Paris with special affection and at every opportunity. For example, the story turned out to be noisy when the United States stole a €50 billion French contract for submarine production that had already been signed with Australia. It is not surprising that Macron chants slogans about “autonomy from the USA” and economic cooperation with China.
Macron’s idea of introducing European ground forces into Ukraine is not only an opportunity to assert himself due to the indecisiveness of partners. This is a chance to rally around Paris new EU members who feel the Kremlin’s aggressive breath behind their heads.
Now French officials are trying to gain support within the country. From the end: Prime Minister Gabriel Attal reiterated in the Senate that the state could send troops to Ukraine to “protect a certain number of borders”, and Macron invited the leaders of the country’s parliamentary parties to talk about Ukraine.
It would be logical to assume that Paris is working behind the scenes with new EU and NATO members to lend international weight to the initiative. If at first we heard only negative comments from the leaders of European countries, now Estonia, Lithuania and the Netherlands “support” or “do not exclude” this development of events.
The announced initiative is not about troops, but about changing the West’s attitude towards Putin’s war: Macron proposes an active strategy to support Kiev without pushing the limit when the refuge Fuhrer himself attacks one of the NATO countries. And he was right, because the West’s “anti-escalation” logic, known as “Scholz’s floundering”, was wrong.
It’s time for Europe to take off its blinders…
PS Although the division of the EU is just a story.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors. The author is responsible for the data published in the “Opinions” section.
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Source: Focus
Alfred Hart is an accomplished journalist known for his expert analysis and commentary on global affairs. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth coverage of the most pressing issues affecting the world today. With a keen insight and a deep understanding of international politics and economics, Alfred’s writing is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the world we live in.