I was there on a visit with the defence sub-committee when, for the first time, a British general, bearing on his sleeve the European emblem with its stars, introduced himself to me as a European soldier, I realised that something had happened here that would reverberate throughout history; you, Mr Schmit, may mention ‘European troops’ or the ‘forces of the European Union’, only in passing, but there is no doubt that this is a development with historic significance.
Je m’y suis rendu en visite avec la sous-commission sécurité et défense lorsque, pour la première fois, un général britannique, arborant sur sa manche l’emblème étoilé européen, s’est présenté à moi comme un soldat européen.