Germany is again under military threat for the first time in decades, found the 81-page document presented to the cabinet on June 5 by Interior Minister Nancy Fesser.
It is a framework based on the ‘collective defence’ model, which was in place until the fall of the Berlin Wall, and describes the measures to be taken to protect citizens in the event of war – including the registration of public and private places that can function as shelters (such as subway stations and cellars), the existence of sufficient stocks of food and medicine, the creation of makeshift hospitals, etc.
A week later, on June 12, her Defense colleague Boris Pistorius presented his own plan to beef up Germany’s armed forces in manpower. Based on this, every male citizen of the country will be required upon reaching adulthood to fill out a form in which there will be questions regarding his suitability to wear the khaki uniform, but also his intention to do so. Afterwards, the Authorities will select the 10% they consider to meet the criteria and a smaller percentage will be called for training and duty – initially 7 months and with the prospect of becoming 17 months – with the aim of drastically increasing the number of 180,000 military personnel (active and in immediate reserve) that the country currently has.
Most importantly, Germany is not the exception but the norm in a Europe which, especially after the opening of the front in Ukraine 28 months ago, now seems to live and “dance” to the rhythm of war – which, according to with Pistorius, it is likely to break out by the end of the current decade. It is, after all, something that is proven not only by the accession to NATO of the two until recently “neutral” Nordic countries, Sweden and Finland, but also by the statements of leading officials in the capitals of the “27” and in Brussels, who are now systematically talk about the need for Europe to move in the direction of a “war economy”.
With the gun on the front line
Earlier this year, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson publicly called on his fellow citizens to be ready to defend themselves and their country “with gun in hand and their lives on the front line.” Taking care to remind, at the same time, that until it joined NATO, the country could barely last a week in case it was attacked – and adding that today this is changing drastically.
Finland’s government believes that Moscow has already launched a “hybrid war” plan against it, the first phase of which involves the “tooling of migrants”. Thus, it has already proceeded to strengthen its military forces along the (1,340 km long) border with Russia, which it has effectively sealed and only occasionally opens. At the same time, it is speeding up the implementation of the agreement it had signed with the US from the beginning of 2022 for the supply of 64 F-35 fighters worth more than 8.5 billion dollars.
“Europe is preparing for war” recently wrote the Spanish “El Pais”, underlining that what has been happening for months is “more ammunition, more mass production of weapons, greater investment and funds, coordination of defense capabilities” – together, of course, with increase in military spending in budgets. And this week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg came to put the “icing on the cake” by declaring that the Alliance – which is known to consist mainly of European countries – must, among other things, “demonstrate its nuclear power”.
The peace conferences are a fiasco
At the same time, hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine are fading after the fiasco of the international peace conference in Switzerland last weekend, in which neither Russia nor China participated, while the US was represented by Vice President Kamala Harris, who did not distinguished for her diplomatic talent.
The conference communique is even weaker than previous UN resolutions. The communique speaks of “respect for the national sovereignty and independence of all states, including Ukraine.” What is worse is that even this “cheap” communiqué was not signed by powerful countries like India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and South Africa.
Shortly before the start of the conference near Lucerne it became known that China is trying to lure several countries to participate in a summit on Ukraine to be convened by Beijing and in which Russia will participate.
In May, China and Brazil had formulated a “joint six-point plan” to end the war. One of the six points concerned the organization of an international conference in China “in due course”.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that 45 countries support the six-point plan and thus the organization of an international conference at the initiative of Beijing.
It is obvious, however, that such an initiative would not have a positive outcome, as it would not be endorsed by Western countries that support Ukraine, such as the USA, and neither would the EU.
It is becoming clear that the Ukrainian has entered an impasse. Kiev’s allies are showing weariness over the seemingly never-ending war, and at the same time they are worried about developments in Europe – triggered by the results of the European elections –, the rise of the far-right and the possibility of a far-right government in France in the upcoming elections.
