Achtung!
TO A chorus of approval, the recent European Union summit in Helsinki formally agreed to push forward a British-French proposal for a European rapid-reaction force of 60,000 men. Germany has been an enthusiastic supporter of this “European defence identity”. Yet it is becoming embarrassingly plain that, unless Chancellor Gerhard Schröder changes his mind, Germany will be unable to play a proper part in it. Why? Poverty, says the government of Europe's biggest economy. Stinginess is more like it.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Achtung!”
From the December 18th 1999 edition
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