Gen. Bertolini, “The European Army would be a dream, but Europe must first exist”

“It would be a great thing to have a European army. But first there must be a Europe ”. General Marco Bertolini, former commander of the Coi (the current Operational Command of Vertice Interforze, COVI) said this to Adnkronos, underlining what in his opinion is a clear absence in the EU, or rather “the lack of a common foreign policy , the fundamental premise of a single army that would be an expression and instrument of it “.” It is true – he admits – that in the face of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the European states are united in condemning it and in sanctions, however differences in approach remain, like the original ones from France and Germany. It is an illusion to have a single military instrument without first passing through a true common foreign policy in which the same interests are shared ”. “The army is not just a civil protection organization but a real tool of foreign policy – explains Bertolini – And a brigade made up of 5 thousand units, like the one we are thinking about, cannot be considered a force but only a symbolic tool. In order for Europe to have an army worthy of the name, in addition to a much greater number of soldiers, all the typical tools of the armed forces would be needed, from a land army, to the navy, to aviation. But the obstacle that will make it difficult to create is represented by the added value of Europe. That is the cultural, linguistic, religious differences that exist from east to west and from north to south of the continent. These differences are our true wealth but also our limit to achieving true cohesion “. As for the possibility of a widening of the conflict in the Balkans or in Poland, according to the general “it is a possibility that no one really has an interest in: even if Serbia is in favor of Russia, I do not believe that something like this can happen in a composite region. , after the break-up of Yugoslavia, from small states. Poland is close to Ukraine and there is effectively a lack of clear division between the two peoples: in Lviv there are many Poles and in the Polish cities on the border there are as many Ukrainians. Poland is not interested in going to war and Putin must do everything possible to keep the conflict out of NATO. The operations concentrated above all in Mariupol and those of low impact in the west have the exact purpose of averting possible accidents with the countries of the Atlantic Pact, which would result in an escalation with unimaginable consequences that no one wants “. (by Cristiano Camera)