Tuesday

5th Dec 2023

UK defence minister supports EU army

The freshly appointed UK defence secretary has publicly supported the idea of a European army, a key ambition of the French EU presidency.

Speaking to the country's Sunday Times newspaper yesterday (26 October), John Hutton, who took on the defence portfolio on 3 October, was asked about the prospects for an EU force.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

He said: "I think we've got to be pragmatic about those things. I think that's perfectly sensible. France is one of our closest allies, and the French believe very strongly in this type of role. If we can support it, we should."

French President Nicholas Sarkozy, whose country currently chairs the EU's six-month rotating presidency, wants the bloc's existing military framework to have a new headquarters and each member state to commit 1,500 troops to rapid reaction forces.

"I'm not one of those EU haters [who think] anything to do with the EU must by definition be terrible," said Mr Hutton. "There's plenty of them around. I think frankly those kind of views are pathetic.

"Britain's role in the world is to be part of those alliances - that's the best way to project power, strength and conviction around the world," he continued. "People who don't understand that don't understand the nature of the modern world."

Mr Hutton also told the British paper that he thought the plans for a European Union mission to tackle piracy off the Somalian coast is a good example of how EU forces can be used.

Although the EU does not have a military, with defence remaining within the domain of each member state, Mr Sarkozy had hoped to place EU defence architecture at the heart of his country's EU chairmanship until his best-laid plans were overtaken by the global financial crisis.

In 2007, during French Bastille Day celebrations in which troops from every EU member state marched down the Champs-Elysees, Mr Sarkozy said the EU should construct a unified military.

The Bastille comments followed similar remarks from German Chancellor Angela Merkel in March of the same year on the occasion of the EU's 50th birthday. At the time, she said in an interview that she supported the idea of a unified EU army.

However, the UK, the largest of the EU's big-three military spenders ahead of France and Germany, has until now opposed the idea of a common EU force, arguing that it would unnecessarily duplicate tasks performed by NATO.

According to the Lisbon Treaty, rejected in June by the Irish in a referendum, the North Atlantic alliance "remains the foundation of the collective defence of [EU] members," with NATO always headed by a US general, however.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head

Afghanistan is a "forever emergency" rendered worse by an isolated country intent on dismantling human rights, says UN refugee agency (UNHCR) representative for the country, Leonard Zulu.

EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors

The EU Commission reformed procurement directives to make bids more attractive (and competitive), but the reform has failed, say auditors. Procedures now take longer, and the number of direct awards and individual tenders has increased over the past decade.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Latest News

  1. Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
  2. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  3. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  4. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  5. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  6. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
  7. Optimising Alzheimer's disease health care pathways across Europe
  8. Georgian far-right leader laughs off potential EU sanctions

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us