The European Union’s military leadership is in favor of building a unified European army. “A EU army would be, in the long run, undoubtedly sensible in the face of the many security policy challenges in the world and in our immediate neighborhood. This, however, would need to be initiated by politics” said Robert Brieger, the chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), to the Welt am Sonntag. Brieger, a four-star general from Austria, sits in front of the general staff of the 27 EU member states.
Brieger justified his demand with military arguments: “A unified army is more efficient and effective than a coalition force, which, as is currently the case in the EU, is formed by different nations.” This is also shown by history. Brieger added: “Coalition forces always have a certain extent of coordination problems and efficiency losses, which arise from, for example, different military cultures or various weapon systems. This would likely not happen in a EU army.”
Background: On Monday, the heads of state and government of the EU will discuss a European defense union in Brussels. The agenda includes the development of military capabilities, the development of a European defense industry and the role of the EU as a security policy actor in the world. In the past, former EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had already called for a EU army and justified this with the threat from Russia. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her previous function as German Defense Minister, had repeatedly spoken out in favor of building an “army of Europeans” without, however, precisely defining what this meant.