BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Union is now revising its defense strategy, discussing prospects of establishing the bloc's army. The plan, which goes back to 1950, was revived in March 2015 by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said the bloc needed its own European army to respond to threats posed to EU member states. Major proponents of such a EU-wide army are Germany, France and Italy.
"Today we decided all together, all 28 [EU member states] on the plan on the European Union security and defense… It is not about a European army, I often say even NATO does not have a NATO army," Mogherini said at a press conference. "It is not about creating a new European Union shape-style headquarter, it is not about European Union territorial defense… and it is not about competition or duplication with NATO."
"The substance of it is, first of all, providing the European Union with the capabilities, the structures, the tools, and the financial resources that are needed to fulfill the level of ambition we identify… This is not about big operational headquarters but it is about streamlining and making our current headquarters work better," Mogherini said.
The discussions of Europe's defense have become more active following the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election. During the presidential race, the politician had repeatedly stated that the United States should decrease the support of other NATO member states and protect only those members of the alliance, who "fulfill their obligations" in respect to Washington.
