The EU Army Is On The Horizon

The EU Army is on the horizon

Kit Knightly

The special “Future of the EU” Conference came to a conclusion a few days ago.

There may have been a familiar veneer of “public consultation”, but the aim of the conference was simple: Tell the EU to do what they’ve already been planning to do for years.

If that wasn’t clear from the outset, it became unavoidably obvious a couple of days ago when the conference’s list of 49 “recommendations” was published on April 27th.

You can read the whole list here, if you are so inclined. We have picked out some of the more troubling ones to discuss.

There’s number 21, for example, which suggests:

that the EU improve its capacity to take speedy and effective decisions, notably in Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), speaking with one voice and acting as a truly global player, projecting a positive role in the world and making a difference in response to any crisis

This sentiment is repeated in Number 39, where the conference claims there is a need to…

Improve the EU’s decision-making process in order to ensure the EU’s capability to act, while taking into account the interests of all Member States and guaranteeing a transparent and understandable process for the citizens

And they intend to do that by changing the voting system…

All issues decided by way of unanimity should be decided by way of a qualified majority

Taken together these measures would pretty much eradicate the national veto, and see member states potentially subject to legislation imposed against their will. A huge knock to national sovereignty.

They also want to:

strengthen the role of the High Representative to ensure that the EU speaks with one voice

Which is a roundabout way of saying “centralising power”.

Most concerning, though, is recommendation 23:

We propose that the EU continue to act to promote dialogue and guarantee peace and a rules-based international order,36 strengthening multilateralism and building on long-standing EU peace initiatives which contributed to its award of the Nobel Prize in 2012, while strengthening its common security

Which sounds harmless enough (apart from the shameless self-congratulatory reference to the Nobel Peace Prize), except they intend to achieve these ends using a new EU Army…

[The EU’s] joint armed forces that shall be used for self-defence purposes and preclude aggressive military action of any kind, with a capacity to provide support in times of crises including natural catastrophes. Outside European borders it could be deployed in exceptional circumstances preferably under a legal mandate from the UN Security Council and thus in compliance with international law38, and without competing with or duplicating NATO and respecting different national relationships with NATO and undertaking an assessment of EU relations with NATO in the context of the debate on the EU’s strategic autonomy.

A potential EU Army has been a talking point for years, but most often simply dismissed as Euro-sceptics scaremongering. In fact, further down in point 21, the conference adds:

[The EU should] reflect on how to counter disinformation and propaganda in an objective and factual way

Somewhat ironic, because as recently 2 or 3 years ago, the “EU Army” itself was described as “misinformation”. A “lie” spread by “Brexiteers” according to the Guardian, or “as true as saying Elvis lives” according to Emily Thornberry.

 Following the Brexit vote, everyone from Politico to the Atlantic Council was attempting to dispel the “myth” of the EU Army.

The EU itself published an article on their official site debunking the “EU Army myth” in June of 2019.

…Then, just last month, the EU voted to create a “rapid reaction military force” of 5000 troops.

Funny how things change.