[Book] “European defence, the great illusion” by JD Merchet

(B2)" European defense is an illusion. It won't see the light of day and that's good, because it's a dangerous illusion. Its further implementation would lead to more mismanagement, powerlessness, renunciation. From the first words, Jean-Dominique Merchet, defense policy specialist at the French daily, Liberation, sets the tone.

The feather is alert. And the tone is sharp. Between "big peaks for small results" (Helsinki and Nice), a "wingless plane" (The Airbus A400M), "From Sarajavo to Abéché" (from impotence in the Balkans to lack of power in Chad) , "peace is Europe" (complex relations with the United States and the presence of a common enemy, Russia, which unites Europeans), the author puts his finger on what hurts: declarations full of emphasis, not followed by concrete effects; the lack of political will or cooperation between Member States, the very difficulty of cooperating on industrial projects.

He takes a few concrete examples: the development of a fighter plane (see on the website from the author, a demonstration
comparing the cost of the Rafale and that of the Eurofighter, the latter costing at least 1,5 times more expensive than the first); nuclear deterrence; the lack of results of the French presidency in terms of capacity development; common air security, which remains a decoy, in the face of a possible terrorist attack... And JD Merchet concludes: “ The main feature » of Europeans is their “extreme
diversity. It is the immense richness of this continent and it is this very thing that prevents it from blending into a single whole. ».

We therefore read this pamphlet in one go, with delight. Even if we may not share all of the author's findings or points of view, the reader will find food for thought (NB: I will come back to this - I have to reread the book, this time, pencil in hand).

• European defence, the great illusion. Jean-Dominique Merchet (Larousse, “truly speaking” collection, Paris, May 2009, 128 pages, 9,90 euros)