"I don't think that this defense identity will start with an EU army and we'll do the rest. We have to start with the rest and we'll see that at some point in time… we may see something that people already describe as a new army or an EU pooling of resources to make this defense identity more visible and more meaningful," the spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters.
Schinas noted that the European Union would start its work on the new defense identity in the areas where the bloc had more experience, such as research, procurement cooperation, "possibilities for EU funding."
The commission's spokesman noted he would not comment on Macron's recent interview, but added that the French leader's idea of the "stronger Europe that empowers and protects" was "totally compatible" with the work of the European Commission.