While there is no EU army and defence remains exclusively a matter for member states, the EU has taken big steps to boost defence cooperation in the past few years.
Since 2016, there has been significant progress in the area of EU security and defence with several concrete EU initiatives to encourage cooperation and reinforce Europe’s capacity to defend itself. Read the overview of the latest developments.
High expectations for EU defence
The vast majority of EU citizens (81%) are in favour of a common defence and security policy, with at least two thirds backing it in each country, according to 2022 data published by Eurobarometer. Some 93% agree that countries should act together to defend EU territory, while 85% think that co-operation on defence should be increased at EU level.
EU leaders realise that no EU country can tackle the current security threats in isolation. For example French President Macron called for a joint European military project in 2017, while former German chancellor Merkel said “we ought to work on the vision of one day establishing a proper European army” in her address to the European Parliament in November 2018. Moving towards a security and defence union has been one of the priorities of the von der Leyen Commission.
EU measures to boost defence cooperation
A common EU defence policy is provided for by the Treaty of Lisbon (Article 42(2) TEU). However, the treaty also clearly states the importance of national defence policy, including Nato membership or neutrality. The European Parliament has consistently supported more cooperation, increased investment and pooling of resources to create synergies at EU level to better protect Europeans.
Read more at: www.europarl.europa.eu