GERMANY - The woman largely expected to take over as chancellor of Germany has echoed calls by her mentor Angela Merkel and French ally Emmanuel Macron for a “European army” to avoid becoming a “plaything” of Russia, China, and the United States on the global stage.
Dr Merkel’s successor as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (also referred to as AKK) made the comments on Tuesday during a speech in the EU capital Brussels where she outlined her party’s campaign themes ahead of May’s European Parliament elections.
Stressing the idea of the “Europe of security,” Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer said Brussels must push forward with a common defence policy, which “must someday also include a European army.” “An EU army fighting alongside national forces would be the logical step if we do not want to become a plaything between China and America or Russia and America,” she said according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.