Why a European Union army will only benefit France

Emmanuel Macron will make sure that any steps towards a European Union army will benefit France, first and foremost.

No longer content with being just a soft power, Brussels is keen to exert some hard muscle.

The French president has made his support for common EU forces clear and the chaotic US-led evacuation of Afghanistan has added fresh impetus to calls for greater EU military integration.

While a traditional standing army remains a distant fantasy, a push towards creating an EU rapid reaction force of 5,000 soldiers able to act independently of Nato and the US is building steam.

On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, demanded the EU build a “Defence Union” in her annual State of the Union speech.

She outlined broad plans for greater cooperation on intelligence and cyber defence, to build on existing EU projects, established after Brexit, that pool member states research funding for defence.

The idea is part of a plan to build up the EU’s “strategic autonomy”, which is Brussels jargon for ensuring the EU can punch its weight on the global stage.

It is born from the EU’s long held status anxiety in comparison with the great superpowers of the USA, China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.

Donald Trump’s presidency and his threats to pull out of Nato has convinced senior EU figures that the time is right for the EU to stand on its own two feet.

A “Europe that protects”, it is argued, will stop the bloc from being squeezed by its more powerful neighbours.

France, which is after Brexit the EU’s sole major military power, is ideally placed to wield the most influence as the foundation stones of the project are laid.

Berlin, the other half of the Franco-German engine of EU political integration, is happy to surrender the helm to Paris on matters military because of its history in the Second World War.

Diplomats joke that Mr Macron is in favour of a European army as long as it is a very French European army.

There are already grumbles that French dominance in pooled defence research funding projects is bringing preferential and lucrative contracts for French defence companies.

Mr Macron will have purred with pleasure at Mrs von der Leyen’s suggestion that VAT could be waived on all EU-made military agreement.

The protectionist move to get member states to buy European and ensure the arms and systems are interoperable across national borders will further benefit French companies.

At the moment the plans have yet to hit the cold political reality of sending soldiers to die under the EU flag. When they do, support from national governments for any military action could simply dry up.

The EU has had battlegroups of 1,500 soldiers on standby since 2007 but there has never been the unanimous support from the 27 member states to send them to conflict zones around the world.

The French president, who is set to become the EU’s most influential leader after Angela Merkel steps down as German Chancellor this month, will next year host an EU defence summit with Mrs von der Leyen.

The event, which pitches Paris firmly in the driving seat, comes when France holds the rotating presidency of the EU, handing it yet more influence in talks between the bloc’s governments over the plans.

The stars could be aligning for Mr Macron - provided he prevails, as expected, in next year’s presidential elections.