Brexit reignites plans for European army
‘‘A common army . . . would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union.’’ Jean-claude Juncker, European Commission president
Britain’s impending exit from the European Union has prompted fresh calls to begin the march towards a common EU army.
Also fuelling the revival of the long-held federalist dream is the aggressive stance adopted by Russia in recent years, the threat of Islamist terrorist infiltration, and pressure on the EU’S external borders from an unprecedented number of migrants.
A push to put the concept of a common army on the agenda of the EU summit in October has come from the normally Eurosceptic Czech Republic.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka issued the appeal at an annual gathering of Czech diplomats in Prague – shortly after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi met on an Italian aircraft carrier off Naples in a display of unity.
‘‘In the face of uncontrolled mass migration, even states in the centre of Europe have realised that internal borders must be better controlled,’’ Sobotka said.
‘‘Aside from better co-ordinated foreign and security policy, I also believe that in the long term we will be unable to do without a joint European army.’’
A common army should not compete with Nato but should make the EU a ‘‘more reliable partner’’, he said.
The call comes at a moment of transition for the EU, with the impending departure of Britain and a search for projects that can show that the organisation can respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Security and defence are at the top of the agenda as the EU prepares to relaunch itself at its 70th anniversary celebrations in Rome next March.
Britain has long been a brake on federalist ambitions to combine Europe’s armed forces, partly because of fears that this would undermine Nato. The 28-member military alliance is viewed in London as the essential guarantor of European peace, but a growing number of nations on the continent believe that they need to boost common forces amid concerns that the United States might step back from Europe.
Supporters of an EU army – among them European Commission President Jean-claude Juncker – believe that a good starting point is the mutual defence clause introduced by the Lisbon treaty of 2009. This imitated Nato’s Article 5 commitment for all members to come to the defence of any member that is attacked.
Alarm bells rang in European capitals when Donald Trump declared that he would make Article 5 conditional upon a country’s financial commitment to Nato if he were to win the race for the White House.
Juncker suggested last year that the EU would never be taken seriously until it had its own army.
‘‘You would not use it immediately,’’ he said. ‘‘But a common army among the Europeans would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union. Europe’s image has suffered dramatically and, also, in terms of foreign policy, we do not seem to be taken entirely seriously.’’
Federalists point out that there would be huge cost savings from streamlining the overlapping defence resources of the member states.
EU foreign affairs representative Federica Mogherini launched the first review of EU defence and military aims in a decade with a wide-ranging paper published five days after the Brexit vote. It envisaged multinational military headquarters, combined procurement, and deployments to help the EU cope with ‘‘times of existential crisis’’.
US Vice-president Joe Biden yesterday reaffirmed American determination to defend the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia against any aggression from Russia, and dismissed Trump’s comments.