Formation of a Unified EU Military Force
The idea of a common European military force has existed since the end of World War II when various Western European countries signed treaties of mutual defense. Most of these organizations, however, would later be absorbed by NATO at the beginning of the Cold War. The EU’s first tangible step towards a unified military force came with the 1997 signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam, which established the EU’s common foreign and security policy. These goals were furthered by the Treaty of Lisbon which established a new position, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In 2009, another huge advancement towards the creation of a unified military force came with the establishment of the Synchronized Armed Forces Europe (SAFE).
One of the primary driving factors behind this desire to establish this European Military was the perceived failure of the EU to respond to the Balkan Wars. Instead, the EU had to rely on NATO to keep peace in the region. Currently, the EU has the ability to temporary deploy troops, a power it has utilized in Bosnia, Macedonia, Central African Republic, DR Congo, and soon, in Libya. This force, however, is not a standing military, but rather, a force that accepts troops from willing member states, on an as needed basis.
Primarily due to the centrality of NATO, the military capabilities of coordinated European efforts are dependent to a degree on the US. This is a point of contention since EU foreign policy differs from that of the US; additionally, this situation clearly agitates certain Member States, namely France, which has long rallied for less dependence on NATO. Several prominent European political leaders have called for an EU military including German Chancellor Angel Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Merkel stated, “In the EU itself, we have to come closer to creating a common European army,” and a French defense ministry official stated, “The EU has to really increase operational capabilities and NATO has to decrease its command structures” (Charter and Boyes, Traynor and Wintour). There remain, however, several obstacles to the establishment of a unified European Military force that must be considered.
