The Atlantic Alliance fears the creation of a common European army

The possibility, still not entirely concrete, that the creation of a European army becomes a reality, puts the leaders of the Atlantic Alliance in agitation, which see a potential conflict between the two entities. If from a political point of view a European defense project can be good news, because it would favor a common direction in the diplomatic field, the creation of a European armed force is seen as a possible subtraction of economic resources from the Atlantic Alliance and, perhaps, above all, also a decrease in the political weight that the US exercises in Europe through the leadership of the Atlantic Alliance. In Washington this possibility is seen in a totally negative way because it would be a decisive contribution to direct Europe towards a political union, an eventuality seen in a totally negative way by Trump, who in his vision of international politics negatively interprets the subjects constituted by unions of states, because it prefers to treat, from positions of force with smaller state entities. If one of the dangers identified by the Secretary General of the Alliance is the duplication of a military subject within the West, it must however be said that this vision constitutes a partial analysis of the potential future situation; in fact, the aims and purposes of the two subjects do not seem to coincide, because the establishment of the European military force is considered the means to ensure an autonomy in foreign policy in Brussels, understood as the capital of the European Union and not the seat of the Atlantic Alliance . For the United States this would mean a possible antagonist, albeit in the Western field, which could compromise American supremacy in Europe and even outside the continental area. Trump has always advocated the need for greater engagement in the participation of alliance military spending and has claimed a disengagement role for the United States, but only if the allies contribute to the rise of the US military industry and do not take contrast positions with the White House, which intends to reserve for itself the role of majority shareholder in the organization. The tendency for greater European autonomy can not satisfy the US president, because it means a substantial separation, through a direction of greater independence, from the close ties that Europe maintains historically with the USA. On the other hand, the differences in international political vision between Europe and the Trump administration are increasingly considerable and this justifies the search for greater European independence. From the point of view of the search for greater cohesion among European countries, the theme of foreign policy can be a means of giving greater strength to the union, even if it is certainly not sufficient to reawaken a positive European feeling, due to the contrast of the forces sovereign and populist, who are in government in many countries. The problem is the next European elections, which could lead to a sharp slowdown in the unification process or, perhaps, even a stop. Without a different attitude to the problems within the Union, ie those relating to the well-being of citizens, the issue of common defense and European foreign policy risks becoming redundant because for the perception of most citizens it is a problem too far away from daily difficulties; this can be useful for Trump's cause and for all those who do not understand the need for a greater political weight of the European Union in a context increasingly characterized by a multipolar presence of relevant international subjects. Being on the same international level as the USA, China and Russia can allow non-secondary advantages also in the increasingly globalized economic field and increasingly influenced and interconnected with foreign policy, which invests different areas of interest, which are not necessarily the search for a role as a protagonist in crisis areas, even if the intention to want to play a role of primary importance on the international scene entails a necessary assumption of responsibility that the current structure of Europe can not allow and which can be achieved by taking the first step the creation of an autonomous European armed force dependent only on the wishes of Europe itself.