The newly approved defense strategy allows for the creation of a common European Union (EU) combat force of 5,000 soldiers, paving the way for the birth of a common army.
RT reported that, on March 21, the EU adopted a common defense strategy to strengthen the military's response capacity in the context that hostilities have returned to Europe.
"The threat is growing by the day and the cost of inaction is clear," said the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell. clearly define the bloc's defense and security goals by 2030.
This defense strategy is expected to promote cooperation between the militaries of the bloc countries, promote cooperation with NATO, promote joint research and investment activities.
The joint defense strategy also allows for the creation of an EU rapid response force of 5,000 troops. This force will replace the current EU combat groups created in 2007 but never used. This creation will pave the way for the creation of a common EU army. In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed creating a common EU army, to reduce dependence on NATO - a military alliance that he said was "brain dead".
In fact, the EU's common defense plan has been proposed since 2020, but faced resistance from some Eastern European countries who want to rely on NATO and US forces to meet their defense needs.
Earlier this month, Mr. Macron again called for the creation of a separate EU combat force, separate from NATO. The French leader argued that the conflict in Ukraine had "changed the times" of the EU. However, Eastern European countries still insist that they need to rely on NATO to ensure their defense needs. Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Glinski said the EU was not ready for conflict and that Mr Macron's comments risked "destabilizing Europe".
The recent outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict seems to have accelerated the approval of the EU defense plan. The crisis in Ukraine also forced NATO to take unprecedented steps to strengthen its eastern flank. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on February 25 that the alliance is deploying a rapid response force of 40,000 troops to strengthen its defenses in the context of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. This is the first time NATO has deployed this force.
"Allies have activated their defense plans and accordingly, we are deploying NATO rapid response forces on land, at sea and in the air to strengthen our defenses and respond quickly to any any unexpected situation," Mr. Stoltenberg said. The head of NATO added that the move was aimed at preventing the conflict in Ukraine from spreading to NATO territory.
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