As the United States gradually pulls back its military presence, European nations are debating the necessity of a permanent common army to counter growing Russian threats.
Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.. all major platforms Find the full transcript below: The United States is gradually scaling back its presence in Europe.But without American support, Europe’s current military forces would not be sufficient to face a potential Russian attack.. A permanent European army, intergovernmental cooperation—what ideas are being discussed, and which ones actually stand a chance of becoming reality?. “Today, Russia is able to produce almost 4 times more weapons
than all Europe is capable.. So it’s a huge threat for us.. (..) and today we understand that credible deterrence can work only if it’s backed by real military strenght”” The Lithuanian defence minister sent a clear message to his European counterparts on Tuesday, May 12: the priority for EU countries is to increase their security spending to reach five percent of GDP.. That is what Nato members agreed on last year.. His country, Lithuania,
is on track.. It is already spending 5.4 percnet of its GDP on defence.. But that is far from being the case for all member states.. Most countries are still around two percent.. Rather than dramatically increasing national defence budgets, some, like Spain, are reviving the idea of a common defence pool.. In an interview with Politico, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called for a European common army.. Such a force would replace the
American troops that could withdraw from European soil, and serve as a deterrent against Europe’s adversaries.. This idea is also gaining traction with the EU commissioner for defence, Andrius Kubilius, who envisions something similar: a permanent European military force of up to 100,000 troops.. It would not necessarily be an initiative of all 27 EU member states, but rather a coalition of willing countries in and outside the Union.. That would include the United Kingdom,
Norway, and Ukraine.. But could such an initiative actually become reality?. In theory, yes—through an intergovernmental treaty, somewhat similar to Nato.. But it raises many questions.. A fully autonomous military force would mean that member states would no longer have direct control over the troops.. And so far, EU countries have kept sovereignty over defence matters because they are strongly attached to their decision-making and operational independence.. Then comes another key question: who would decide
when, where, and how to deploy such a force?. Everything is to be determined.. But here, we can draw a parallel with the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity, a European initiative created in 2022.. It includes 5,000 troops from different member states, ready to be mobilized in times of crisis.. To trigger a deployment, unanimity is required among all 27 member states.. In other words, it is extremely difficult.. Finally, the figure of one hundred thousand
troops mentioned by the EU Commissioner, is substantial.. That’s slightly less than the Spanish armed forces, which number between 115,000 and 125,000 personnel.. And as I mentioned earlier, this is above all a matter of political will—and that is where things get complicated.. Many EU countries fear that a new alliance, or a European army, would send the message that Europe is trying to replace Nato.. And that is something to be avoided at all
costs.. Why?. Simply because, regardless of the state of transatlantic relations, the United States remains too central to Nato’s military power to risk alienating it.. And many countries simply do not believe that Europeans—even in an expanded format—could reach the same level of military capability.. This view is shared by Nato’s secretary general, the Dutchman Mark Rutte, and by the EU high representative for foreign affairs, the Estonian Kaja Kallas.. But this position is not
set in stone, as views are evolving rapidly in the current security context.In an interview with the publication Le Grand Continent, the Chief of Staff of the French Armée de Terre, Pierre Schill, said: “We are living through a turning point, a moment of the return of empires.”
EU army, European security, NATO, military spending, defence policy, Russia threat