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The USA and NATO had announced a ‘Military Schengen’ a few months back. The ‘Military Schengen’, as the name suggests, is similar to the civilian Schengen.
Schengen is the name of a small village on the border of Germany and France. This is why, borrowing from the concept of the village ‘Shengen’, the idea of a free cross-border movement was associated with the same name and the civilian ‘Schengen Visa’ came to be.
As the name implies, the Military Schengen is for free military movement across borders. The NATO wants to ensure that the military can move freely between the NATO countries as freely as Schengen Village. This would mean that the NATO, centered around the USA, can deploy military support towards any NATO country without taking prior permission from the country they are sending their military to and without the permission of those countries that come along the way.
This has several impacts in the world of geopolitics. And after the Lok Sabha election in 2024, we have to see how this fits in the grander scheme of things.
The Schengen Military on EU
For the longest many intellectuals have seen the European Union as a collection of states that form a larger country. This is because the EU has its own parliament, it makes laws on the economy, on culture and of citizens almost uniformly across Europe. The only two things that the EU does not control are the Military and the Treasury. The EU does not elect its leaders through a democratic process either, which further makes it a more authoritarian body.
On the other hand, people from various European descendance including Russia live in the United States of America where they have a “mixed” European culture which does not belong to all. One can say this culture on some level is the culture of a combined Europe without borders.
These are the basic building blocks of the united European Union as a single country.
A Military Schengen will be the first step in unifying the military of the EU. With free movement between militaries, this would open the doors for joint and coordinated military exercises wherein the grouping of NATO would have their military act as a single unit. This single unit will be akin to Bharat’s Regiments like the Gurkha Regiment or the Assam Rifles, etc.
This sort of unity and coordination between the military will be the first step towards a militarily united Europe. Many of those who support the federal nature of the EU seem to oppose this. But as the European Union is not a democracy, this group of people do not have a say in it.
As Bharat is seen as usually west-Leaning, we should also be aware of these changes and act accordingly. As Europe unifies, it is best to stay out of it unless we want to be sucked into their sphere and become one part of them.
NATO Military Schengen and Gas Exports
This military Schengen also has a twist in the story: apparently in the light of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Military Schengen also includes a ban on natural gas being transported either into or out of NATO. This would mean that NATO can dictate natural gas import and export in the country.
The last colonial empire in the world, Russia, which colonized many Asian tribes, Tengri, Buddhist and other people of Mongolian and other descents beyond the Ural Mountains, is also the home for the biggest reserves of natural gas, due to the sheer size of this colonial empire.
Banning all natural gas permanently, even after the war, would mean a good deal for Bharat provided we can maintain a good relationship with NATO overall. Meanwhile, the survival of Imperial Russia is in the best interests of Bharat as a deterrent to China.
Future for EU
In many ways, the world is indeed round. While Europe colonized the world for 400 years (after the Islamic world’s colonizing surge simmered down in the 1600s), the Europeans today need a Nehru. The Europeans need someone who can unify their continent into a single country and further their security as a diverse heterogeneous group of people.
As Europe faces enormous churn in almost every aspect of their existence, a Military Schengen can be a welcome step for the future of Europe for the centuries to come.
