Final Word from Thursday, August 7, 2025

Even before the European post-war security architecture was disrupted by Vladimir Putin with his invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump by threatening publicly to pull out of Nato, the French and Germans were making plans to close Europe's capability gaps. Article Four of their Treaty of Aachen of Jan. 2019 calls for promotion of the "competitiveness and consolidation of Europe's defense industrial and technological base." Outgoing German Amb. Andreas Künne didn't mention this when he spoke on Czech TV on Tues. about the need to consolidate the entire arms industry. "This is in the common interest of both the Czech Republic and Germany," he said, "and both relevant ministries agree on this." This will be news to many readers, but it's right in line with Pres. Petr Pavel's eagerness for a German sphere of influence and PM Petr Fiala's call for investing the 1.5% defense-related Nato commitment into joint projects that connect the two countries. German-Czech consolidation, it seems, is moving right along. [ Czech Republic military defence 5% GDP ambassador ]