Church of God News

(EU via ZH)

COGwriter

A reader sent me a link to the following from the UK Express:

April 4, 2022

Efforts by France and Germany to ramp up defence have certainly been welcomed by EU partners, but many are still asking: what exactly does that mean for European defence? …

In the short-term, the focus will be strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, says German Social Democrat Nils Schmid. But EU defence capabilities, he argues, should also be stepped up with a so-called “Strategic Compass” – a road map of sorts for EU defence and security. .

“That also means being able to take action against non-military threats to Europe: against disinformation campaigns, cyber-attacks,” he says. “This is what the strategic compass is for. And Germany and France must use it to actually achieve the targets of this strategic compass over the next few years”.  https://www.euronews.com/2022/04/04/germany-eyes-french-election-hoping-recent-revival-of-bilateral-cooperation-will-not-suffe

Here is something from an official EU website (bolding in source):

A Strategic Compass for the EU

The European Union has formally approved the Strategic Compass, at a time when we witness the return of war in Europe.

The Compass gives the European Union an ambitious plan of action for strengthening the EU’s security and defence policy by 2030.

The more hostile security environment requires us to make a quantum leap forward and increase our capacity and willingness to act, strengthen our resilience, and invest more and better in our defence capabilities.

The strength of our Union lies in unity, solidarity and determination. The objective of the Strategic Compass is to make the EU a stronger and more capable security provider. The EU needs to be able to protect its citizens and to contribute to international peace and security. This is all the more important at a time when war has returned to Europe, following the unjustified and unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as of major geopolitical shifts. This Strategic Compass will enhance the EU’s strategic autonomy and its ability to work with partners to safeguard its values and interests.

A stronger and more capable EU in security and defence will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, which remains the foundation of collective defence for its members. It will also intensify support for the global rules-based order, with the United Nations at its core.

The Strategic Compass provides a shared assessment of the strategic environment in which the EU is operating and of the threats and challenges the Union faces. The document makes concrete and actionable proposals, with a very precise timetable for implementation, in order to improve the EU’s ability to act decisively in crises and to defend its security and its citizens. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/strategic-compass-security-and-defence-1_en accessed 04/04/22

Notice also the following:

European Union Unveils New Strategy To Become A Global Power

April 3, 2022

• The goal is “strategic autonomy” — the ability for the EU to act independently of, and as a counterweight to, the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — in matters of defense and security.
• The key component of the Strategic Compass is the development of a so-called EU Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC), a military force able to intervene in “non-permissive environments” anywhere in the world.
• The RDC is to become fully operational by 2025 and commanded by an institution called the “EU Military Planning and Conduct Capability.” (The term “capability” is a politically correct substitute for “headquarters,” as in “military headquarters.”)
• The push for Europe to achieve strategic autonomy from the United States is being spearheaded by Macron, who, as part of his reelection campaign, apparently hopes to replace former German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the de facto leader of Europe.
• The danger is that many of the pie-in-the-sky policy proposals in the Strategic Compass will divert and drain resources and finances from where they are actually needed: NATO.
• A logical course of action would be for EU member states to honor past pledges to increase defense spending as part of their contribution to the transatlantic alliance. That, however, would fly in the face of the folie de grandeur — the delusions of grandeur — of European federalists who dream of transforming the EU into a geopolitical “great power.”

The European Union has published a new strategy aimed at transforming the 27-member bloc into an independent geopolitical actor on the world stage.

The long-awaited “Strategic Compass” lays out an ambitious ten-year plan for the EU to develop an autonomous European security architecture. The goal is “strategic autonomy” — the ability for the EU to act independently of, and as a counterweight to, the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — in matters of defense and security.

The greatest advocate of strategic autonomy, French President Emmanuel Macron, said the objective is to make Europe “powerful in the world, fully sovereign, free in its choices and master of its destiny.”..

The 64-page policy blueprint — “A Strategic Compass for Security and Defense” — was originally commissioned in June 2020 by the government of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. …

On March 21, the day the Strategic Compass was published, Germany’s hapless defense minister, Christine Lambrecht, announced that Germany would provide the entire 5,000-strong force plus heavy equipment for the RDC’s first year. She was forced to backtrack after learning that the German military is so understaffed and underequipped that it is incapable of delivering that amount of personnel and equipment. The German Defense Ministry later clarified that Germany would supply a “core” of between 1,500 and 2,000 troops.

The RDC concept — widely viewed as the foundation of a future supranational EU Army — replaces the existing EU Battlegroup concept. …

Antinozzi added:

“It is important for the EU to recognize that excluding the UK from European defense is likely to be both unrealistic and counterproductive. As such, any mixed feelings and wider political tensions associated with Brexit should now give way to constructive defense dialogue between the sides….

“Security and defence are versatile policy areas with the potential to help rebuild trust between London and Brussels. And ad hoc cooperation in these realms could provide a foundation for a better political relationship in the future.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/european-union-unveils-new-strategy-become-global-power

Anyway, yes, instead of mainly funding NATO, the Europeans want to fund a military they can control independent of NATO.  This will happen (and they will also likely use NATO in way the USA has never considered). Notice also that the United Kingdom is excluded.

I reported about this back in 2020 (see ‘Berlin is pushing the EU to adopt a document on fundamental military policy’ ‘Europe must take on its own defense responsibilities’). Also that the departure of the USA from Afghanistan (see Clashes in Afghanistan as Europe looks to be more militarily independent from the USA) and the AUKUS deal (see ZH: China Deems Australia ‘No Longer Peaceful’, But Now “Saber Wielding” After Sub Deal; CNN: The EU realizes it can’t rely on America for protection.) were getting Europeans more interested in developing this “Strategic Compass.” The Russia-Ukraine conflict has helped get Europe to be more decisive on military matters.

According to the Bible, the Europeans will get a great army:

16 … the king of the north … 25 … shall stir up his power and his courage … with a great army. (Daniel 11:16, 25)

It should be pointed out that the final King of the North is a European leader (see Who is the King of the North? and watch also Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?).

(Public Domain Picture)

Europe is developing its own military. The Bible says it will have a “great army” (Daniel 11:25) with “many ships” (Damiel 11:40) and will become the aggressor against the USA in the future per Daniel 11:39.

The EU also has its hands on American nuclear weapons.

Notice something that the late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote in 1979:

What is this abomination? This refers to Daniel 11:31 and Matthew 24:15…That will be a time when the UNITED Europe shall appear–the revival of the medieval “Holy Roman Empire.” We shall then be warned, and readied to be taken to a place of refuge and safety from the Great Tribulation. Forty-five days later “the beasts armies” will surround Jerusalem. Thirty days later the Great Tribulation will probably start with a nuclear attack on London and Britain–and possibly the same day or immediately after, on the United States and Canadian cities. The GREAT TRIBULATION, we shall fully then realize, is the time of “Jacob’s Trouble,” spoken of in Jeremiah 30:7. And Jacob’s name was named on Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:16). At that time a third of the people in our nations will die, or shall have died, by famine and disease epidemics; another third will dies of the war–our cities being destroyed (Ezek. 6:6), and the remaining third will be carried to the land of our enemies as slaves (Ezek. 5:12). (Armstrong HW. The Time We Are In, Now. Pastor General’s Report-Vol 1, No. 15, November 20, 1979, Page 2).

Europe already has PESCO, its Permanent Structured Cooperation–which it formed within a year of Donald Trump becoming President of the United States–his position was used as a reason, in my view, to accelerate the move towards a stronger EU military. PESCO also excludes the USA and UK.

Last year, some reported that this PESCO would be good for the USA:

PESCO is in the American Interest

On December 8, 2017, the European Council established Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), an EU program that aims to increase joint and collaborative defense capability development projects within the EU framework. …

U.S. policymakers and security analysts have traditionally voiced skepticism about PESCO and the possibility that it could diminish American influence in Europe or lead to a European army. However, PESCO supports American interests on the continent, and the Biden administration should vocally encourage PESCO’s implementation as a means to bolster European defense capacity. …

PESCO Supports American Interests

It is worth flipping PESCO’s skeptics’ argument on its head and asking whether conservative American opposition to PESCO is less about interoperability or efficiency concerns and more about a fear that European defense companies could become more competitive with American companies in the coming years. .. it makes little sense for Washington to continue calling on Europeans to increase their defense spending but only if they do so in very particular ways. The fact that EU member states are developing these capabilities at all is a positive sign for European security. Discouraging such initiatives makes Washington’s calls for European defense spending increases—and in particular using defense spending to primarily purchase American systems—seem more self-serving than grounded in a genuine desire to develop European capabilities. …

That said, there are some projects where American involvement is imperative. Chief among them is PESCO’s military mobility project coordinated by the Netherlands. The Biden administration has already signaled that it wants to join this project, which is an unsurprising development given the importance of military mobility in Europe to NATO’s troop movement across the continent.

Washington should also look to join projects where it can provide financial support or expertise to increase the project’s effectiveness, and it should continue to encourage the EU to deepen defense integration through PESCO. In short, PESCO is in the American interest and it will enable the EU to be a more effective military partner, improve NATO’s logistical capabilities, and bolster conventional deterrence on the continent. accessed 04/29/21 c. 04/01/21 https://www.iar-gwu.org/blog/a535fp9un5oo9hqv8d7olhyxwq23b5

PESCO is NOT in the American interest, as it will help lead to the prophesied takeover of the USA by the Europeans (cf. Daniel 11:39).

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 4th, 2022 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Prophecy.

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