Andrius Kubilius also proposes the creation of a European Security Council, which would be responsible for political decisions on defense matters
The European Commissioner for Defense, Andrius Kubilius, suggested the creation of a permanent European Union military force, made up of 100,000 soldiers.
At a conference dedicated to security, the former Lithuanian prime minister used the example of the USA to argue about the need to create a European military force.
“Would the United States be stronger militarily if it had 50 state-level armies instead of a single federal army?” he asked during the conference, which took place in Sweden on Sunday. “Fifty state defense policies and budgets instead of a single federal defense policy and budget?” he insisted.
“If our answer is ‘no, the US will not get stronger’, then what are we waiting for?”, he asked, quoted by .
This is a divisive topic among European Union leaders, with no consensus on the need to create a European army.
For the European Commissioner for Defense, however, the issue is now urgent, not only due to the Russian advances that Ukraine is trying to resist, but also due to the change in US focus, with the Trump administration turning its attention to the Western Hemisphere, revisiting the Monroe doctrine, which implies a move away from Europe.
“We need to start investing our money so that we can fight as Europe, and not just as a collection of 27 national ‘bonsai armies'”, he argued, using an expression from former EU High Representative Josep Borrell, who compares European armies to Japanese bonsai to illustrate how European forces were reduced to miniature scale.
In this context, the commissioner suggested the creation of a powerful and permanent “European military force” made up of 100,000 soldiers – an idea already proposed ten years ago by Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission, as well as by Emmanuel Macron, French president, and Angela Merkel, former German chancellor.
Knowing that the issue is not consensual, Kubilius also proposed the creation of a European Security Council, to address the issue of political sovereignty. “The European Security Council could be composed of core permanent members, together with a number of rotating members, including the Member State holding the Council Presidency [da União Europeia]”, he suggested, also adding that the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council would also be part of the council.
In Kubilius’s opinion, the United Kingdom should be invited to participate in this European Security Council, estimating a “total of around 10 to 12 members” to collaborate in that body, which would aim to “discuss the most important defense issues”.
“And not only discuss, but also quickly prepare important decisions”, he stressed.
