The European Commission chief called for the creation of an “EU joint army” that would “react credibly” to any external threat and defend the bloc’s “values.”
While the UK and France are wary it could undermine NATO, Germany has backed the idea, RT reported.
“An army like this would help us to better coordinate our foreign and defense policies, and to collectively take on Europe’s responsibilities in the world,” the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
He added, “The EU’s image has suffered dramatically and also in terms of foreign policy, we don’t seem to be taken entirely seriously. A joint EU army would show the world that there would never again be a war between EU countries.”
With a joint EU army, the bloc could “react more credibly to the threat to peace in a member state or in a neighboring state,” he said.
Juncker’s proposal has been supported in Germany, where last month Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen also spoke of an EU army, calling it the main goal for the bloc.
Chairman of the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Norbert Rottgen also told the Welt that “a joint army is a European vision whose time has come.”
“The European countries spend enormous sums on the military, many times more in total when compared to Russia. Yet our military capabilities remain unsatisfactory from a security standpoint,” he said.
According to Hans-Peter Bartels, the chairman of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, “the past 10 years have added little to Europe’s defense. It needs a boost.”
“It is important that we now swiftly implement concrete measures. We should not wait for an overall concept of all 28 EU members, but start with agreements between the nation states,” he added.
