Far from the news headlines Germany and two of its European allies, the Czech Republic and Romania, quietly took a radical step down a path toward something that looks something like an EU army in the making while avoiding the messy politics associated with it: They announced the integration of their armed forces.
Romania’s entire military won’t join the Bundeswehr, nor will the Czech armed forces become a mere German subdivision. But in the next several months each country will integrate one brigade into the German armed forces: Romania’s 81st Mechanized Brigade will join the Bundeswehr’s Rapid Response Forces Division, while the Czech 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade, which has served in Afghanistan and Kosovo and is considered the Czech Army’s spearhead force, will become part of the Germans’ 10th Armored Division. In doing so, they’ll follow in the footsteps of two Dutch brigades, one of which has already joined the Bundeswehr’s Rapid Response Forces Division and another that has been integrated into the Bundeswehr’s 1st Armored Division. According to Carlo Masala, a professor of international politics at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, “The German government is showing that it’s willing to proceed with European military integration” — even if others on the continent aren’t yet.
Though the progress has been slow, or perhaps more precisely, gradual, emphasizing, “baby steps,” this past March, the European Union created a joint military headquarters that is, for the moment, only in charge of training missions in Somalia, Mali, and the Central African Republic and has a meager staff of 30. It is expected to grow and eventually play a larger role.
But under the bland label of the Framework Nations Concept, Germany has been at work on something more ambitious — the creation of what is essentially a Bundeswehr-led network of European miniarmies. “The initiative came out of the weakness of the Bundeswehr,” said Justyna Gotkowska, a Northern Europe security analyst at Poland’s Centre for Eastern Studies think tank. “The Germans realized that the Bundeswehr needed to fill gaps in its land forces… in order to gain political and military influence within NATO.”
Assistance from junior partners may be Germany’s best shot at bulking out its military quickly — and German-led miniarmies may be Europe’s most realistic option if it’s to get serious about joint security. “It’s an attempt to prevent joint European security from completely failing,” Masala said.
Over the years, the German Bundeswehr had declined severely because of a lack of spending. But now Germany is greatly increasing its military budget. It is required to spend 2% of its GDP, which is more than its current commitments. And it still lags behind France and the UK as a military presence. For Germany, quietly partnering with other EU nations will strengthen its military presence without offending the sensitivities of its citizens and others who are wary of a strong German military given its history. For its junior partners, the initiative is a way of getting Germany more involved in European security, while amplifying their own military muscle. It also gives the junior partners a say in where Germany deploys their joint forces.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, a classic globalist elite member, has repeatedly floated the idea of an EU army, only to be met with either ridicule or awkward silence. And while Germany and its partners are far from a full-fledged military, the initiative is likely to grow. The integration of the junior partners has had remarkably few hiccups. And more countries are expected to join the Framework nations.
Isn’t this what Adolf Hitler did with the nations Germany conquered in World War II? Their militaries were simply integrated into the German war machine or security apparatus. With Germany as the economic powerhouse of Europe, getting the other nations involved in its military and in EU security is less difficult than building its own.
The trickiest part of the integration is finding a common language, which emphasizes the point that this process is a globalist project. Should the German troops learn the language of the junior partners, or should the junior partners all learn German? Probably neither. English, after all, is the common foundation language of the new world order. And there are plenty of people of military age that speak English in all of these countries. At least one integrated division is headed toward English as its common language.
The prophetic point should be obvious. The nations are preparing for another war. “The Spirit of God is being grieved away from the earth. The nations are angry with one another. Widespread preparations are being made for war. The night is at hand.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, page 26.