EU army

**PyrrhusofEpirus** · 07-26-2005, 21:31

I'm against military in general, but I think EU must acquire it's own army. I'm afraid this is the only way to break of dependance from the warlike US.

**bmolsson** · 07-26-2005, 21:41

Sure, if needed. I have a hard time to see any actual threat that require a sizeable European Army.

**Viking** · 07-26-2005, 21:50

As long as they don`t pull Norway in, I`m fine.

We`re engaged in enough EU non-member crap as it is thanks to that deal(don`t know it`s english name, sorry).

**Boohugh** · 07-26-2005, 22:46

You guys really need to do some research on the EU military:

http://www.eurocorps.org/site/index....n&content=home

The first stage of what Kagemusha is suggesting basically exists. Even the second stage,of cooperating on research projects, etc, also exists (the Eurofighter project is the best example). The only problem is the Eurocorps can't do very much offensively, although it is very useful for reconstruction work (e.g. after the Kosovo conflict).

I voted 'no' for a European army because it would mean having a common foreign and defence policy, which just isn't feasible. It couldn't work on a "join in if you want" basis because if the UK didn't want to take part, the other countries would be unable to mount any sort of successful military operation (the logistical support just doesn't exist in other armies, even if the fighting formations do, and that includes the French and German armies).

The military cooperation on research doesn't necessarily work either. The Eurofighter is, again, a good example of this. It is heavily delayed and massively over-budget because there were disagreements over its specifications, due to differing needs between nations (which caused the French to pull out of the project and develop their own plane, the Rafale) and disagreements over who will build which parts.

Just a few things to think about...

**Al Khalifah** · 07-26-2005, 22:59

The only problem is the Eurocorps can't do very much offensively

That is pretty much the only purpose of a combined European armed forces. The suggestion that a foreign power would initiate a conventional arms assault on an EU member state is somewhat farcical. There just isn't a nation in proximity that could execute such an assault and from a logistical perspective, there isn't a nation in the world that could conquer a united Europe.

**Boohugh** · 07-26-2005, 23:16

Originally Posted by Al Khalifah

That is pretty much the only purpose of a combined European armed forces. The suggestion that a foreign power would initiate a conventional arms assault on an EU member state is somewhat farcical. There just isn't a nation in proximity that could execute such an assault and from a logistical perspective, there isn't a nation in the world that could conquer a united Europe.

Yes, it is a farcical idea that someone would attack Europe, but the reconstruction work carried out in Kosovo shows that there are other roles for the military other than offensive and defensive operations.

The Europcorps is good for this kind of reconstruction work, but i wouldn't want its role to extend to offensive operations for the reasons stated in my first post (that of common foreign policy, etc).