Unic Press UK: The European Union (EU) is a political union, and would not build a European army, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini said.
During a press conference following the Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), Federica Mogherini was to explain further on the position of the EU in terms of establishing a European Union military force in the light of the fact that there’s suspicion that such a force, if set up, will actually rival NATO. She said:
“The European Union is not and will not turn into a military alliance, we are a political union. We also have some hard power. We deploy it, in full coordination and in full complementarity with the work that not only NATO but also the United Nations are doing, in most of the cases. There is no competition and there is no idea to substitute anyone. We are not building a European army here; nobody is doing a European army. We are investing to make sure that European Union Member States have the capabilities to provide more to their own defence and to be more credible, more reliable, more active security providers in our region and in the world.”
Mogherini contrasts the views of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who called a “real European army” that would enable the bloc to defend d itself against any attack by the Russian Federation or the People’s Republic of China or the United States.
“We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States,” President Macron said circa two weeks ago during a first radio interview with Europe 1.
