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One Of Our Aircraft Carriers Is Missing
Thanks to Nicolas Sarkozy's defence cuts, France is likely to be short of an aircraft carrier or two. How will the President's longed-for EU Navy set sail with such a meagre fleet?
Well, they could borrow one of Britain's.
France released proposals for the EU Navy as part of Sarkozy's review of the nation's armed forces yesterday. While both British and French officials are said to be in "well advanced" talks about Franco-British contributions to the EU joint military force, many Brits will think it somewhat cheeky that the French have pencilled in one of our aircraft carriers for duty.
Under the French plans, Britain would contribute a carrier to the EU Navy. Other nations would also contribute vessels: Germany is reportedly keen to get involved too.
Is this the price of France's re-integration into NATO's military structure?
Sarkozy's new vision for France's military will see up to 50,000 jobs go and the savings invested in intelligence and new equipment. He is hoping to switch the make-up of the armed forces from its current 60 percent administrative / 40 percent operational to something approaching Britain's capacity, which is the reverse of France's. These job cuts, coupled with the NATO military command, are likely to be unpopular in France where NATO is widely viewed as a US vehicle for domination of European defence; job cuts, especially prized jobs in the civil service, are never easy to pass through France. Perhaps Sarko is gambling that the promise of a leading role (and plum jobs) in the European Defence Force (not to mention the potential of said force to split NATO) could persuade France to take his reforms on board?
As for the aircraft carrier, the British Conservatives are hopping mad.
Their defence spokesman Liam Fox said: 'The EU's military ambitions know no bounds. If they think the Royal Navy will sail under the EU flag they had better think again.
'How is it supposed to work? Are we supposed to say, "Sorry, it's our turn to use the aircraft carrier"? It's ridiculous.
'The whole concept of sharing naval assets with any other country is sheer nonsense. The idea of the Royal Navy flying the EU flag makes a mockery of centuries of British naval tradition.'
