Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold

BRDO (Slovenia) – European Union leaders were divided over the development of an independent defense force despite angry at Western withdrawals from Afghanistan. They also received new energy from France following its exclusion from a U.S. Geostrategic pact.

The leaders who met over dinner Tuesday in Slovenia split into traditional divisions: the ones that are afraid of Russia but want to reinforce Europe within NATO; and the two sides led by France, Spain, Germany and Italy.

Emmanuel Macron from France told journalists before the dinner in Brdo Castle, outside Ljubljana’s capital Ljubljana the bloc of 27 countries must be more proactive to address crises at its borders.

On Wednesday, the EU leaders and six Balkan leaders from Serbia, Montenegro Bosnia, North Macedonia North Macedonia Kosovo, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro will join them. This is part of the decades-old strategy of creating a “ring” of friendships across southeastern Europe, North Africa, and the Balkans.

“We Europeans should be very clear about ourselves. What is important to us regarding our security, borders and independence? Macron was the one who doubted U.S. protection for Europe in last month’s Indo-Pacific pact dispute.

Last month, the United States negotiated in secret a military agreement with Australia and Britain, called AUKUS. This was to combat China. Macron indicated that he was going to meet Joe Biden from the United States at the Group of 20 meeting, which will be held in Rome on October 30-31. [L1N2R10CI]

Advocates for stronger EU defense claim there are many warnings. These include Washington’s “pivot towards Asia”, Britain’s exit from the bloc, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” that undermined EU priorities and failing states at Europe’s frontiers as well as a more aggressive Russia.

The EU is yet to deploy its battlegroups of battalion size in crisis despite making progress towards a shared defence fund.

“The leaders debated between whether, when it comes to force, we should choose between our economic strength or military power,” stated a top EU official. He was referring to EU’s role in the global aid system and as a trading bloc.