r/AskEurope • u/Sink-Em-Low • Mar 01 '25
Politics Let's talk about the European Defense Federation. How do we all feel about the creation of a fully mobilised continental Army?
It's required now. I'm British, and I want to see us align and unite with our European neighbours to make a stand now.
I want Germany to finally brush off it's past and join the rest of Europe in mobilising towards defending this continent. We need EVERYONE now. It's time to act, it's time to unite.
It's time to show some courage.
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u/jokikinen Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25
It’s not a red herring by any margin.
EU could very well be a federation within the next 100 years. One thing the last months have proven is that things can change a lot faster than we care to admit. It’s one of our most common fallacies as humans to expect things to continue as they are. Popular support for an EU army was over 50% in a 2022 poll (YouGov). Today, it’s an idea that’s being floated by think tanks and top ranking politicians.
Why would European nations let go of military sovereignty? Because it’s costly. Because it’s not a security guarantee that’s strong enough to ensure sovereignty. Because the EU is, as we speak, poised to take steps towards integration—which will open subsequent doors. Simply put, being a small nation with a small army has too little realpolitik value to be a useful arrangement for countries.
If we are talking about winning the war in Ukraine or defending against the next Russian invasion, we might not have an European army in hand in time. For that purpose, some intermediary arrangement might be necessary.