The numerous wars currently setting the world ablaze lay bare the shortcomings of a globalisation process that has been inadequately guided and, perhaps, insufficiently understood, above all because it is fundamentally reshaping the world as we know it. Many are inclined to believe that this now-unstoppable process is primarily a matter of governing economics, finance, foreign trade, communications, tourism and the like, whilst assuming, by contrast, that the question of Europe’s defence can be resolved by entrusting it to inadequately armed forces and to the obsolete structures of sovereign nation states. At present, our Europe looks on passively as various theatres of war take shape, several of them raging along its very borders, delegating its defence almost exclusively to NATO, an organisation recently dismissed by Trump as ‘a paper tiger.’
The question of defence has been thrust forcefully into the European political debate, propelled by the expansionist appetites of both Putin and Trump, alongside a corollary of considerable gravity: the ever-present menace of terrorist organisations. At this moment, there are approximately sixty active conflicts across the globe, involving just under ninety countries, with millions of displaced persons and hundreds of thousands of casualties among combatants, as well as innocent victims, children, women and the elderly. The heartfelt appeals for peace issued by Pope Leo XIV have fallen on deaf ears, eliciting disproportionate and absurd reactions from the dictator of the White House, who, having jointly unleashed, with Netanyahu, the war in Iran, presumed to demand the involvement of NATO and the European nations in that conflict.
Trump’s demands for the involvement of European nations and NATO spring, quite obviously, from the fact that the United States bears the largest share of the Alliance’s defence expenditure; and it is by virtue of this dependency that member nations were expected to support the conflict, whether through direct participation or material assistance. The uncomfortable position of the European countries, subjected to moral blackmail by Trump, has effectively produced a sterile debate on a new armaments policy adequate to the requirements of defence: a debate that echoes the never-realised dream of Alcide De Gasperi, who had long hoped to see the creation of a European army.
Yet the assembly-based composition of the majority that governs the European Union is subject to vetoes from certain member states, vetoes that obstruct processes which can no longer be deferred. Among these, the issue of security takes on contours that can only be described as dramatic. The political debate on the creation of a joint European army and the procurement of armaments commensurate with the defence of Europe’s natural borders, borders threatened by the growing number of dangerous actors who now poison our days and our lives with alarming regularity, has become futile and disingenuous. Certain political factions would seek to strip the budgets of sovereign states, and that of the Union itself, of the resources required for defence, harbouring the naïve conviction that it would suffice to meet long-range missiles, drones and all the other instruments of modern warfare with slings, in the manner of the ancient Balearic tradition.
It is apposite, in this context, to invoke a maxim attributed to Cicero: “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” (If you wish for peace, prepare for war). This Latin dictum expresses the principle that the capacity to defend oneself and to fight effectively represents one of the most reliable means of ensuring peace. The underlying idea is that a well-armed European Union, prepared for war, would deter potential aggressors and create a condition of equilibrium and deterrence. One cannot pretend the problem does not exist.
Reports continue to emerge of significant incursions by Russian aircraft into Polish airspace, and the hasty accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO is an unequivocal signal that power-hungry dictators and resurgent imperialists increasingly govern the world. Surrounding these warlords are terrorist organisations that foment conflicts, perpetrate massacres and set the planet ablaze, operating in territories in proximity to our Europe. To name but a few: ISIS, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Pasdaran, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the Taliban, the Houthi rebels, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Islamic Front. These are figures whom history will undoubtedly condemn; yet the problem demands resolution here and now. We must take heed of Cicero’s warning and move beyond ideological posturing to concrete action, action that presupposes the urgent creation of a European army, properly armed and equipped to deter the expansionist ambitions of the unhinged individuals who are increasingly seizing power across the world.
The dream of Winston Churchill and of all true European citizens is encapsulated in a single question: shall we ever come together as one to proclaim, “Our homeland is Europe”?
Article edited by Prof. Alessandro Calabrese
