An EU army?

[skipper]

Short of a catastrophic event that would force the EU to band together to fight a ridiculously large, ridiculously powerful enemy, I just can't see this happening.

The economic state of many European countries right now already limits what they could spend on their military. They've been so used to a general US military hegemony that they could skimp as necessary, and I don't see them likely to find the need to suddenly invest the time, energy, and financial resources into implementing one united military. Think about all that would go into it. Agreement on tactics. Agreement on command structure. Uniform pay for soldiers. Uniform equipment. Uniform...uniforms. The training to get everyone on the same standard. Cultural differences.

It's a lot to surmount. It's not impossible, but it's unlikely to happen without the EU being forced into it.

 

[Gabriel]

There is a misapprehension for people that don't live in Europe that Europe isn't actually united. In trade one has to trade with all nations and neighbors so agreements do exist. On a cultural and social level each country stands alone, the Euro is the one failure that binds some countries and EU law which many countries try to appeal, so what success is there except in trade tariffs?

When I lived in the US most people assumed Europe was one place and the UK is Europe, it's not and each country has it's own laws as well as EU law, so the pro Europeans push for more power and to create jobs and power structures for themselves which do not really benefit anyone but themselves.

 

[DeltaForce103]

What purpose would an EU army serve? At this moment in time, a military force of this size achieves nothing and doesn't serve any interests. This could change with the rise of a massive global threat, but not now. But Europe is in a better position than many other regions in the world to create a single unified military.

 

[Peninha]

That is the main question Delta, what purpose would it serve? Each country has it's own army and if international coordination is required that can happen, so a common army really makes no sense because it already exists in a way.

 

[KimberlyD]

Er... But, how would the logistics of that go though? The EU is not a united country like the US is, they aren't governed by an overarching law that takes priority over the state-specific laws, and the states of the United States have not been at war with each other like the countries within EU have been. Not on the same scale, at least. If they maintain their separate nationhood, there's really no way an EU army can exist. And I doubt there will ever be a European Union country any time soon. Europe has so many countries in such a small continent for a reason after all.

That was my whole point. They are a union but they are not united. Not like the US. In order for them to create single military they would have to become truly united first. Unfortunately that will never happen at least not in our life time.

But Europe is in a better position than many other regions in the world to create a single unified military.

They are still to divided as a nation. In the future maybe, but not now. And a single Military would be the stuff of Nightmares if it were to occur because then the UK could become the dominating force at that point. If they decided to overtake a country, even the US would be hard pressed to stop them.

 

[xTinx]

That's not going to happen. There's already the UN and its "peacekeeping forces" so having an EU army is pretty redundant. EU was not built for the purpose of military defence. In the first place, it was an economic bandwagon born out of the need to cooperate in the midst of financial uncertainties. Hence, the uniform currency. Mixing political interests with economic aspirations will be its downfall. So that's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[kittyworker]

Most EU members are already members of NATO so there really isn't much reason for a EU military. Off the top of my head there are only 3 Nations in the EU that are not in NATO, Austria, Sweden, and Ireland. I wouldn't be all to surprised to see Sweden apply in the next decade.

 

[skipper]

That's not going to happen. There's already the UN and its "peacekeeping forces" so having an EU army is pretty redundant. EU was not built for the purpose of military defence. In the first place, it was an economic bandwagon born out of the need to cooperate in the midst of financial uncertainties. Hence, the uniform currency. Mixing political interests with economic aspirations will be its downfall. So that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Ah, redundancy. That's also a great point. You've hit the nail on the head here.

The EU is really for economic purposes and nothing more.

 

[weepforsweep]

If they separated everybody into their countries, then this could be possible. The language barrier would make this impossible if their all grouped together.

 

[Gabriel]

Ah, redundancy. That's also a great point. You've hit the nail on the head here.

The EU is really for economic purposes and nothing more.

I wish you could tell that to all the members of the EU Parliament who want to keep themselves in a job and create more bureaucracy for everyone and to get rid of the European courts. It would be much easier to deal with then, just business and no politics.

 

[tasha]

I think there should be more focus on the world health organisation and there is Nato that steps in for world issues but in all honesty I do think that each army of each country should step in and take care of the isis problem.

 

[drc65]

It certainly could be a possibility in the future given the issues in the world news lately. Although I think countries will prefer to do solve their problems alone and the current military system will continue.

 

[fliktor7]

Right now, I found it really difficult, there are differences between some countries on Europe, but who knows in the future, the last news are too bad, and we are all allies in the end.
I'm not sure about unifying all the armys into a single one, but more cooperation will be good.

 

[krazyman]

This is a conversation that is been going on in Europe for the last 20 years. The West European Union which was created during the post World War II era was supposed to be a common military shared among the Western European Nations to fight against communism in the Cold War. The organization lasted until the Treaty of Lisbon where the EU looked to create a common force with all member states the original WEU had to be dissolved and was in 2010.

Europe already has a common police force (Europol - similar to Interpol but primarily focuses on European Affairs - an FBI for Europe if you will) but it will be interesting if the member nations could but their personal (country) difference aside to fight as a common miliatary unit. They may if they are rallied to fight against a common cause - but to take all of the military power of each of the EU member states and combine into one gigantic force...wow - lookout!

 

[galmal]

Er... But, how would the logistics of that go though? The EU is not a united country like the US is, they aren't governed by an overarching law that takes priority over the state-specific laws, and the states of the United States have not been at war with each other like the countries within EU have been. Not on the same scale, at least. If they maintain their separate nationhood, there's really no way an EU army can exist. And I doubt there will ever be a European Union country any time soon. Europe has so many countries in such a small continent for a reason after all.

It's hard for me, in the US, to understand so many countries in such a small area. But I do realize that each country has their own set of laws and is rich with their own culture and history. Historically speaking, most of the countries have fought each other at some time in history. But isn't it frightening to be geographically surrounded by other countries, all with their own military and politics and not be "allied" in some way? I realize that a central EU military would never work - there are just too many differences. But what happens if a larger country, like Russia, China or Korea, decides to attack Europe. Like we saw with WWII, no single country can defend themselves against a superior force. What do you do, to defend the whole of Europe and keep each country safe??