Opponents of the creation of a European army
Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 4:19 am
Over the past decade, a number of European leaders have spoken about the need to deepen military integration. In addition to Macron, who raised the issue back in 2018, similar statements have also been made by Angela Merkel, Silvio Berlusconi, Viktor Orban and former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Juncker's successor, Ursula von der Leyen, also spoke about the need to create a European Defense Union in 2021.
Specific attempts at such integration include the formation of joint military units of EU member states. Thus, back in 1989, the Franco-German Brigade was created, and in 2016, the 414th Tank Battalion was created from military personnel from Germany and the Netherlands.
According to a 2022 survey by the British sociological azerbaijan mobile database service YouGov , residents of all 16 continental EU countries where the study was conducted spoke in favor of creating a pan-European army. However, only in Denmark, Bulgaria and Slovakia were there slightly more supporters of this idea than opponents - in the other countries the advantage was quite significant.
Photo - © NATO
European military integration also has its opponents. First and foremost, NATO. Thus, in May 2024, then Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg stated that the EU is not capable of replacing NATO .
It is interesting that in January 2025, the new head of the EU diplomatic service, Kaja Kallas, also said that the European Union does not need its own army .
Thus, it can be stated that within Europe itself, a unified point of view on the issue of military integration of the countries of the Old World outside the framework of NATO has not yet been formed, although calls for this are quite persistent and are heard from the very top.
Who is Europe going to defend itself against?
AI generated
Photo - © AI Generated
As political scientist and head of the Political Expert Group Konstantin Kalachev noted in a conversation with RIA Novosti, talks about creating a single European army have been going on for a long time, and France has been the main supporter of this idea since the time of Charles de Gaulle.
"Let me remind you that Macron spoke quite harshly towards the US and NATO back in 2018 , saying that France wants to be an ally, not a vassal, and that it needs to be able to defend itself independently. "We must defend ourselves from Russia, China, and even the US" - this is a direct quote. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also inclined to the idea of a single European army. At that time, Great Britain and the US were against it. America believed that this would weaken the North Atlantic Alliance. But if the North Atlantic Alliance, through Trump's efforts, is ordered to live long, hypothetically, then what should Europeans do?" the expert said.
Kalachev also recalled that in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Macron’s statement, stating that the creation of a pan-European army is an important step towards global multipolarity.
According to the political scientist, in the issue of military integration, everything depends on whether the key European players – Germany, France, Italy and Poland – can reach an agreement.
Specific attempts at such integration include the formation of joint military units of EU member states. Thus, back in 1989, the Franco-German Brigade was created, and in 2016, the 414th Tank Battalion was created from military personnel from Germany and the Netherlands.
According to a 2022 survey by the British sociological azerbaijan mobile database service YouGov , residents of all 16 continental EU countries where the study was conducted spoke in favor of creating a pan-European army. However, only in Denmark, Bulgaria and Slovakia were there slightly more supporters of this idea than opponents - in the other countries the advantage was quite significant.
Photo - © NATO
European military integration also has its opponents. First and foremost, NATO. Thus, in May 2024, then Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg stated that the EU is not capable of replacing NATO .
It is interesting that in January 2025, the new head of the EU diplomatic service, Kaja Kallas, also said that the European Union does not need its own army .
Thus, it can be stated that within Europe itself, a unified point of view on the issue of military integration of the countries of the Old World outside the framework of NATO has not yet been formed, although calls for this are quite persistent and are heard from the very top.
Who is Europe going to defend itself against?
AI generated
Photo - © AI Generated
As political scientist and head of the Political Expert Group Konstantin Kalachev noted in a conversation with RIA Novosti, talks about creating a single European army have been going on for a long time, and France has been the main supporter of this idea since the time of Charles de Gaulle.
"Let me remind you that Macron spoke quite harshly towards the US and NATO back in 2018 , saying that France wants to be an ally, not a vassal, and that it needs to be able to defend itself independently. "We must defend ourselves from Russia, China, and even the US" - this is a direct quote. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also inclined to the idea of a single European army. At that time, Great Britain and the US were against it. America believed that this would weaken the North Atlantic Alliance. But if the North Atlantic Alliance, through Trump's efforts, is ordered to live long, hypothetically, then what should Europeans do?" the expert said.
Kalachev also recalled that in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Macron’s statement, stating that the creation of a pan-European army is an important step towards global multipolarity.
According to the political scientist, in the issue of military integration, everything depends on whether the key European players – Germany, France, Italy and Poland – can reach an agreement.