Madam, – According to Gay Mitchell MEP (March 13th), “the EU has built up an interdependence that makes war in Europe among existing member-states unthinkable”. This is a blessing that “does not apply in other parts of the world where the UN expects entities such as the EU to play their part in keeping and enforcing the peace”, but that “obviates the need for the US to play world policeman”.
I believe these views may be reformulated as follows: The EU is an alliance of states that have ceased fighting each other the better to wage war together in countries whose resources they covet, or which are in danger of passing to regimes less compliant to Western interests. Given that the US’s propensity to play “world policeman”, which is the cause rather than the effect of much of the world’s instability, is so highly profitable for the US arms industry, it is time that the EU got a larger slice of the cake.
The European Defence Agency, so admired by Mr Mitchell, is ideally placed to further such an initiative. For this reason, all democrats and anti-imperialists should oppose it. – Yours, etc,