Italy and Spain have rowed in behind France and Germany in their push for closer European defence co-operation, calling for the creation of autonomous EU bodies to take charge of common military operations.

In a letter sent on Tuesday night to their EU counterparts, the defence ministers of the four countries said the uncertainties presented by Brexit and Europe’s “degraded” security environment demanded a strengthening of the bloc’s defence capacity.

They insisted an “EU army” was not their objective and said there was no clash with Nato activities, adding that unnecessary duplication should be avoided.

With Britain on its way out of the EU, European officials believe an opportunity has opened up to fortify the bloc’s own defence operations.

The proposals backed by Italy and Spain build on a Franco-German position paper of September in which they called for a new military headquarters and shared assets.

Citing previous EU operations in Mali, Somalia and Congo, the ministers said the EU will in future “most probably have to launch missions of military and/or civilian character in regions Nato does not consider taking action.”

Even though London has already signaled resistance to greater EU military integration, the ministers urged the UK “to accompany us as closely as possible.” Britain will continue to provide a significant contribution to the security of Europe through Nato, they added.
The letter — seen by the FT — comes after Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, asked member states to define the “level of ambition” to guide a new drive to deepen defence coordination in Europe.

“On the one hand, we should enhance the EU’s ability to autonomously assess and evaluate its security environment and to take the initiative by launching military operations from low to high intensity levels,” the ministers said.

“On the other hand, we need to consolidate a European defence industrial and technological base able to manage key defence technologies, provide the future military capability necessary to the European defence reinforce our decision-making autonomy.”
The letter was signed by Jean-Yves Le Drian of France, Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, Roberta Pinotti of Italy and Pedro Morenes of Spain.

Although they do not add new operational proposals to the original Paris-Berlin paper, the involvement of Rome and Madrid provides fresh impetus at a time when several proposals to boost European defence are under discussion.

EU member states already engage in limited military cooperation but deeper integration has long been opposed by Britain, which warns against the wasteful duplication of activities reserved for Nato, and by neutral member states.

Poland and Slovakia have privately questioned the push to fortify EU defence activities and there are political concerns in neutral countries such as Austria and Ireland. Still, the four ministers said they wanted to implement their proposals at the level of 28 member states “or, with respect to the Brexit decision, at 27.”

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Bron: Financial Times, 12/10/16, https://www.ft.com/content/ddad201e...94-8e9522fb9323

Eigen mening:
Ik denk dat het een goed idee is om de verschillende legers van de EU-lidstaten meer met elkaar te integreren.
België doet dit ook al voor een groot deel samen met Nederland, ondanks dat dit soms even tot conflict leid tussen onze twee landen denk ik dat beide landen enkel voordeel halen uit cooperatie.
Ik ben in principe niet tegen een "EU-leger", maar ik begrijp waarom dit momenteel niet in de kaarten ligt.
Er zijn nog veel mensen die bang zijn voor de federalisatie van de EU, het lijkt me een slecht idee om deze mensen af te schikken door al te spreken over een Europees leger.
Als Europa ooit een overkoepelend leger maakt hoop ik dat het gemaakt zal worden met als doel om de deelstaten dichter bij elkaar te brengen, niet als reactie op een extern gevaar.