Independent Armament for ,,necessary power base"
AMSTERDAM/TOULOUSE Efforts to attain world power status, vis-à-vis the United States, by establishing an independent European military power, are already noticeable in the armaments industry. Berlin and Paris, instead of a US corporation, prevailed in obtaining a significant contract for the A 400M-military transport aircraft for a European consortium. It is said, that only independent control over military technology ,,will provide the Europeans with the necessary power base to represent their common interests in the context of global policies".
Construction of more than 750 engines for the A 400M-military transport aircraft, which will cost more than 3 billion Euro, is the biggest project in the history of European aircraft engine production. In competition for this contract were Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of the US group United Technologies, and the Consortium EuroProp International (EPI), in which the French Snecma, the Daimler-Chrysler subsidiary MTU, the British Rolls Royce and the Spanish ITP co-operate. The general contractor, Airbus Military, wanted to accept the more advantageous offer from Pratt & Whitney but, instead was forced to accept the less preferable offer by the European bidder. This was due to political pressure as well as the ,,recommendation"by the Air and Space group EADS which holds 80% in Airbus.
Berlin and Paris, particularly, had threatened to veto award of the contract to the subsidiary of the US group. The German government which, for ,,reasons of strategy and industrial policy"pleads for a European provider of aircraft engines for the largest current European armaments project, welcomed the decision against the less expensive but politically undesirable offer by stating explicitly that the sovereignty of European governments was also at issue.
Presently opponents of this decision line up in the US Congress. The US government has been requested to examine the award of the contract and, if applicable, make a formal complaint based on blatant protectionism to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
,,Being master of one's own military technology"
It is stated more and more openly in Berlin's foreign policy think tanks, that the purpose of ,,European defence policy"is to serve to integrate the EU partners in securing the military means for pushing through German ambitions for world power status. The ,,Research Group for Policy"of the Bertelsmann Foundation explains that the ,,shock of Iraq"forces Europe to act: ,,A defence union can provide Europeans with the necessary power base to represent common interests effectively in global politics."
The director of the Centre for Applied Policy Research (CAP) calls for challenging the USA for ,,world hegemony", with the assistance of the EU which is ,,a developing world power". 1)For that reason he considers it indispensable to be ,,master of one's own instruments for crises and the regulation of conflicts". Since Germany alone cannot provide the necessary military technology, European co-operation must be strengthened. The new strategic direction for the German armed forces - ,,Away from national defence and toward mobile forces for deployment"- can only be realised through the European co-operative procurement of arms. The partnership should, primarily, benefit the German military: This means that the German armed forces could ,,obtain the most modern equipment sooner and at lower cost".
1) See also earlier article The will to world power
See also earlier article German Armed Forces wants ,,influence over nuclear bombs"
Sources:
Europa first; Manager Magazin 25.04.2003
Etablierung eines europäischen Rüstungsmarktes. Auch bei der Ausstattung des Militärs muss die Zuständigkeit der einzelnen Nationen zurücktreten; Frankfurter Rundschau 25.04.2003
Militär-Airbus soll europäisch bleiben; Süddeutsche Zeitung 26.04.2003
Die Europäische Verteidigungsunion wagen; www.cap.uni-muenchen.de 28.04.2003
Europäer erhalten Zuschlag für Triebwerke des A 400M; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 07.05.2003
Europa bleibt beim A 400M unter sich; Financial Times Deutschland 07.05.2003
Auftragsvergabe sorgt für politische Turbulenzen; Frankfurter Rundschau 10.05.2003