Today it will be about how the NB8 Group forms a European “North Army” step by step. No, I will not argue the power of the armed forces of each of the 8 countries taken together and separately. It will not be about GDP spent on defence spending or buying fresh missiles and tanks. The top force of this alliance is the consensus and categorical attitude towards Moscow. In another words, politics far distant from the Western European establishment.
We're not an empire. "We" means the European Union and NATO in this context. Thus, without being an imperial pier, which improvement owes to extended expansion of resources through conquests or vassalization of neighbours, we have no offensive strategies. due to the fact that that's not our goal either. So we don't have a coherent force projection. Yes, our consequence to the attack is offensive, but we will not origin a conflict ourselves.
No substance how prepared we are to defy aggression, the verdict will be crucial: politics have exhausted opportunities and the course of affairs must be given to the generals. In specified a situation, there will be a request of unanimity in both above mentioned organisations, which is known to Poles perfectly to the mechanics of liberal veto. The only patent that has been implemented so far to overcome the strategical deadlock is the extra-statute “coal of the willing”. What is that? Let's go back over 20 years.
NATO did not participate in the capture and business of Iraq in 2003. The multi-national armed forces were, yes, based on Allied armies, but the captured Baghdad could not bear witness to even the smallest supporter of the Atlantic alliance. I was looking hard. Out of spite. Indeed, many associate States participated in the mission, but not only. To Iraq, they sent quotas specified as Eritrea, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Somalia or Palau, but besides Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
When Prime Minister Leszek Miller and president Aleksander Kwasniewski announced the decision that the Polish Army would take part in the invasion of Iraq, in Europe it was boiling. The disappointment was not covered by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (yes, it is the Consigliere Putin, and that explains a lot), and president Jacques Chirac made the celebrated phrase that "Poles lost a good chance to stay silent". It wasn't just diplomatic bon mot, sorry – mal mot. The screenplay of this scene was dramatically grim. On the left side there were Americans waiting for Poles to sign for our membership of NATO, and on the right side there were French and German, reminding us that before Poland enters the Union, ratification of national parliaments of associate States is needed. Chirac did not take on the subtlety of accession to Coalition of the Willing, as the countries active in the operation in Iraq – any candidate countries – "If they wanted to reduce their chances of joining the EU, they could not do better".
He was in that reaction reflexes of the love profession. At that time politicians and journalists were reasonably common in comparing the negotiation process to the engagement. The European Union was expected to be a virgin in this communicative at the issue (combatants of the wedding claimed to be old and ugly) and candidate countries were abstinent. And here, erstwhile the wedding date is set for May 1, 2004, the bachelors from the east tell the bride that they will come to the wedding, but now they will go to a warm country... with a mistress.
But Poles besides watched to support EU military missions which were directed to Western Sahara, Congo, Mali and the Central African Republic. Warsaw was guided by the rule of reciprocity: we support you in the south, hoping that you will not forget the danger coming to us from the east. Unfortunately, the offended consumers of inexpensive gas from Russia turned their heads.
However, to measure the Iraqi war, the victims suffered by the fallen and wounded WP soldiers on distant war missions (I besides think of Afghanistan), where Poland had no direct interests, but seemingly they were not related to strategical balance in the east rungs of Europe. The Polish political scene was consistent; if we do not aid the Americans today, they will not aid us tomorrow. And this motivation leads us back to the coalition of the willing. The modern one.
Nordic-Baltic 8 was established in 1992 as a platform for regional cooperation between Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden with a wide index (foreign policy, defence, energy, finance, transport, education, environment, work and justice). In time, with Russia returning to imperial rhetoric, aggressive politics, and invasion of Ukraine, the context of defence and safety dominated the others. The Birkavs-Gade study (one of the main papers defining cooperation under the NB8) of August 2010 recommended that the coalitionists strengthen cooperation in six areas: dialogue, abroad policy, diplomatic representation, civilian security, cybersecurity, defence and energy governance.
Today, Nordic-Baltic 8 focuses on coordinating responses to Russian threat and strong support for Ukraine. The coalition of volunteers strengthened the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. As a result, any work to increase the EU's and NATO's war possible has a synergy effect. In another words: Alliance and community safety efforts work in favour of the NB8 confederation. In turn, additional initiatives taken by the Northern Coalition strengthen the fighting possible of the pact and the federation.
The European “North Army” is created spontaneously; by facts made. It starts with joint training of F-35 pilots, the exchange of military personnel and cumulative purchases (the first to be tankers). This proves a consistent shift towards strategical self-sufficiency. The bilateral pacts concluded in addition within the Nordic-Baltic alliance and with external NATO members mean the end of the discussion about the "European Army", no substance how the concept is understood by various political-military entities.
However, the enhanced cooperation of NB8 was born due to a deficiency of interest in the situation in the northeast from confederate Allies whose pivots are Maghreb, Sahel and Levant, it is besides a safeguard against the obstruction of Budapest or Bratislava, which openly favour Moscow.
NB8 is the only group of countries in the planet to hold an axiomatically categorical position towards Moscow and unconditionally support Ukraine. This proves that the enhanced defence integration based on the default consensus is the only way to respond immediately to the Russian attack. Therefore, with specified a partner as NB8 Poland should not only flirt, but should establish a serious relationship.
But I'm going to make this in the next episode.
