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Create EU plans own army, said European Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen. According to her, it is necessary not to rely on the United States in defense matters.
It called for the acceleration of the development of the European Defense Union. And now there is no need to create a new subdivision, because they have existed for a long time. According to von der Leyen, the association must have sufficient political will to use military instruments in international affairs without the help of the United States and NATO.
According to the Daily Mail, she also expressed concern about the fall of the Afghan government as a result of the actions of the Taliban terrorist movement banned in Russia. In her opinion, the incident raises serious questions for the NATO bloc as well as for the countries that are members of the EU.
Von der Leyen added that the EU needs to ensure greater stability in its region, because beyond it. In addition, you must take part in missions that were not started by the North Atlantic Alliance or the United Nations.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the creation of a joint EU army was dangerous because it could divide European countries and weaken the North Atlantic Alliance.
According to Stoltenberg, it is also about money, because 80% of the Alliance's defense spending is on non-EU allies. And countries like the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, the United States, Canada and Turkey (non-EU) play a key role in ensuring European security. According to him, attempts to create parallel structures, duplication of the command system will only weaken the interaction due to limited resources.
Meanwhile, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the need for the European Union to create its own defense system emerged after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. According to him, the events in Afghanistan led to the development of a European security concept “EU Strategic Compass”. Its final version will be presented by the end of autumn 2021.