EU leader calls for European army amid fears of Trump victory

Luxembourg PM says continent needs a ‘fully integrated’ military force to work alongside Nato and US

The EU should have its own army, the prime minister of Luxembourg has said, amid fears Donald Trump will withdraw US security for Europe if he returns to the White House.
The first steps towards a common military could be taken by a “coalition of the willing” among member states, Luc Frieden said in a speech in Poland.
“We need to discuss the need for a European army. One that is fully integrated and interoperable with Nato and a strong and indispensable partner to our North American allies,” he said on Monday night, on the eve of the knife-edge US presidential election.
“Russia’s unacceptable invasion of Ukraine has been a wake-up call,” the leader of one of the EU’s founding members added.
“We need institutions that encourage dialogue and democracy. And they need to be backed by an ability to defend our principles. That is true in Ukraine, that is true elsewhere.”
Mr Frieden’s intervention came as Europe, which is dependent on the US for its security, braces for a possible second Trump presidency.
European leaders are concerned that the Republican could pull out of Nato if he feels alliance members are not spending enough on defence.
They are also anxious he could cut off weapons and aid to Kyiv – and potentially force Ukraine, a candidate country to join the EU, to negotiate an unjust peace deal with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.
In contrast, a Kamala Harris victory would be seen as a continuance of the status quo.
An EU army has long been seen as a distant prospect, due to a lack of political will from member states wary of sending their troops into action under an EU flag.
France vetoed plans that could have led to a joint armed force among the six original member states in 1954.
The EU has had multinational battlegroups of 1,500 personnel each since 2007 but these have never been deployed.
“The fact that it failed in the past should not be a reason for us not to try again. Because the world we live in has changed, as has the nature of threats,” Mr Frieden said.
“If we do not start thinking about ways to organise our common defence, we will not be strong enough when we need to defend ourselves, or our neighbours.”
Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, called for the creation of an EU army after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since the first Trump presidency, he has also pushed for the EU to boost its ability to act independently of Washington.
However, an EU army is opposed by the Baltic nations, who fear it will undermine Nato.
The UK vetoed anything it saw as a step towards a common military when it was an EU member for the same reason.
“Even if it will not be possible in the short term to make one big jump towards a European army, we can move forward step by step,” Mr Frieden said as he called for closer EU integration.
“At the beginning, we should go ahead with a coalition of the willing. A few countries that are ready to pool their sovereign rights to be more efficient in defence.”
He added: “Of course, each country will want to keep control over important decisions such as when to activate its army, when to send its soldiers to war.
“But it is also obvious that the current situation does not offer the level of security that we need. So, we need to start thinking about a European army.”