Brussels chief’s vision for a Euro army

THE European Commission chief yesterday outlined his vision for stronger military co-operation – in what will be seen as a push towards an ‘EU army’.

Jean-Claude Juncker envisaged a European defence union in which member states will ‘pool’ military resources and even buy equipment together.

He said in one such scenario, defence cooperation would be ‘deepened’ and more money would be poured into EU missions abroad. Joint procurement was put forward as one idea, with more integrated capabilities between member states.

Mr Juncker made the comments in a paper on the EU’s future, not long after Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic pledged to deepen their defence ties.

The Czech 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade, along with Romania’s 81st Mechanised Brigade, are to work closely with Germany’s 10th Armoured Division and Rapid Response Forces Division.

A UK report released yesterday warned plans for an ‘EU army’ were a threat to Nato and Britain’s strategic assets.

Pooling EU resources risked encouraging member states to cut defence budgets even further, former Major General Julian Thompson warned. He said EU military integration plans risked dragging the UK into a ‘defence single market’.

His report warned the plans would set off an ‘alarm bell’ over Nato, because Europe needs to be able to work closely with the US, including equipment compatibility.

The highly contentious idea of an ‘EU army’ has faced strong opposition from the UK, and Mr Juncker stopped short of an explicit proposal. But he claimed that ‘being a soft power is no longer powerful enough’. Outlining one potential scenario of a federal European system, he sets out how an EU defence union could be formed, making military co-operation ‘routine’.

And should the EU stick to its current path, he said the fight against terrorism would still be ‘stepped up’ in line with the willingness of states to share intelligence. He added: ‘Defence co-operation is deepened in terms of research, industry and joint procurement.

‘Member states decide to pool some military capabilities and to enhance financial solidarity for EU missions abroad.’

Just days ago, diplomats said the EU was planning to set up a new military unit to oversee training missions in Africa.