EU’s Joint Army: Why Exactly Now?

• 03.10.2015, 17:29
•  Europe,  World

During the last days the discussion on the need for EU’s joint army has increased. The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker suggested establishing such an army to show Russia that the EU is "serious about defending the values of the European Union."

"An army like this would help us to better coordinate our foreign and defense policies, and to collectively take on Europe's responsibilities in the world," - the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview to Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, rt.com reports. Also he pointed, that joint army will show that there can never be a war among EU countries.

Some EU leaders also commented this announcement. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Defense Minister Carl Haglund expressed their support to the proposal. Niinisto told Finnish News Agency that the European Union has been built on the basis of peace, so "it is odd" that the union does not have the means to safeguard it, shanghaidaily reports. Also, Haglund told Finnish national broadcaster Yle that Juncker's idea is interesting and worth discussing.

Germany Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen also spoke about an EU army, calling it the main goal for the bloc. In her comment on Juncker’s proposal, she told Deutschlandfunk radio station that a "European army is the future."

The idea of EU’s joint army is not new, but many have expressed for and against it. First of all, it is quite expensive to keep army, and the EU member states will have to pay for this army. In the present situation with financial problems in some EU member states and the consequences of the economic sanctions against Russia, the EU can hardly begin the process of army-building.

Besides, the EU was formed as an economic Union and NATO is called to solve the issues of defense for the majority of the EU member states.

It is more realistic that the discourse on the EU joint army is much more a political step rather than a process that will soon begin. But it can be called to solve two issues at the same time: to show Russia that the EU is really serious on defending its members and partners, as well as to show Washington that the EU has some intentions to be more independent on its policy.