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The whole vaccine row reminds me of a coffee I had with a former EU Commission official turned policy wonk back in 2017, where I was told with a smirk why the EU will never have its own army.
In Karsmakers, for those who remember what Brussels was like pre-pandemic.
In Karsmakers, for those who remember what Brussels was like pre-pandemic.
The point they made was that the EU has many strengths, but multi-national strategic planning for anything other than economic cooperation is not one of them. They argued that if there was actually an army, it would be "all guns and no armour"
The point they were making was that every member state that cared about having an army would go ludicrous lengths to prove how good they were at doing war-like things. I remember an exact quote being "a pissing contest for who could build the biggest gun"
The less war-loving member states would be reluctant to have their foreign policy dictated by hawks, meaning the commission would have a role, which the commission would insist was the key role most likely. Can you imagine a Commission-based Allied Commander? He could.
In short, my companion found the idea of an EU army laughable because no one who cared would want to do the boring bits and, as is the case with foreign affairs, no one would agree on anything. Which doesn't make for a great line of command.
