By Major General Julian Thompson
In the heady days after the Brexit vote, those who had cast their ballot in favour of leaving the EU might have been forgiven for believing that the decision was made. Alea iacta est, as Caesar said when crossing the Rubicon. The die is cast. As it turns out, in modern military matters, sucIt has taken some time for Whitehall to settle with clarity on what Brexit means in a number of areas. Only now are mandarins finally absorbing that it is necessary to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union. But I rather fear that there is another union where the nettle has not been grasped, because the EU also has a Defence Union issues have proved to be far from certain.
It has taken some time for Whitehall to settle with clarity on what Brexit means in a number of areas. Only now are mandarins finally absorbing that it is necessary to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union. But I rather fear that there is another union where the nettle has not been grasped, because the EU also has a Defence Union.
At present it is rather skeletal. But it is very real; and the principle behind a skeleton is that you hang things off it. In EU terms, that is done as part of a slow and steady process. Paradoxically, if anything, Defence Union has accelerated after Brexit. In part, but only in part, that can be put down to the kneejerk response by the EU to push down on the accelerator in times of crisis. That’s how mothballed Justice and Home Affairs policy suddenly re-emerged as core EU treaty material after 9/11 and ‘something had to be done’ by EU mandarins.
