Who do you think you are kidding Mr Solana?

nick cowen, 14 February 2007

by Pete Quentin
There has recently been a lot of (increasingly) confident talk amongst those who propose further integration of European defence. Javier Solana has been boasting of the EU’s military “successes” in Congo and Lebanon last year and talking up the “full operational capacity” of its new battle groups. Meanwhile the German presidency is expected to see further EU-led management of the international deployment in Lebanon and proposals for policing support of NATO in Afghanistan.
In fact the French General who commanded those troops in Congo is so pleased with the progress he has declared that “we finally have the beginnings of a European army”. Or do we?

Of course there’s just the lack of a truly ‘common’ CFSP, limited defence spending, questionable democratic accountability, the risk of duplication of assets and decoupling from NATO. But, and most significantly of all, there’s the simple fact that, in the area of defence, national sovereignty and interests inevitably triumph over any notions of military integration. Tony Blair can barely justify deployment of our own troops- forget him trying to explain that Brussels has called upon them to risk their lives in the name of the EU, even if there existed some semblance of democratic accountability.
And to prove this isn’t just a case of us not trusting Johnny foreigner (and especially zee Germans) here’s a great little reminder of why the EU and defence don’t mix. From 11th April the EU’s Drivers’ Hours and Rest Time Regulation comes into force, obliging the UK’s 500,000 professional drivers to take up to a 45 hour break from driving after a full week’s work.
A quarter of the British Army is made up of reserve forces, a good number of whom are professional drivers and will therefore be unable to comply with the new regulations and maintain training commitments. This is expected to have a ‘significantly adverse effect on military reserve forces personnel’.
This is a serious challenge to staffing levels at a time when the TA is increasingly called upon to fill gaps in operational staffing. At the start of this month a further 400 reserve troops were called up for Afghanistan; desperately needed to help bolster the British force (currently shouldering Europe’s military responsibility there) preparing to repel an anticipated Taleban resurgence come the spring. Somehow I doubt they’ll be working a 35 hour week!