EU defense chief calls for permanent 100,000-strong ‘European army’
The EU must create a 100,000-strong standing army to make military decisions independently of the US and NATO, Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has said. Washington still maintains around the same number of troops in Europe.
Speaking at a security conference in Sweden on Sunday, Kubilius argued that the EU must pivot from fragmented national armies to an integrated force.
“We need to go for a ‘big bang’ in defense,” he said. “We need to invest our money so that we could fight as Europe, not just as 27 national bonsai armies.”
Citing French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Kubilius noted: “[They] were speaking very similar words ten years ago… that Europe must be more independent and autonomous… and even that we need to have a European Army… a powerful, standing European military force of 100,000 troops.”
Kubilius also called for an overhaul of the Europe’s military governance, proposing a 10-12 member European Security Council to make EU-wide defense decisions, with the UK participating despite its non-bloc status.
Kubilius suggested that the changes are necessary in light of the alleged threat posed by Russia, which he claimed “will continue with a war economy” even after the Ukraine conflict is settled. Moscow has dismissed such claims as “nonsense” used to distract Europeans from domestic problems and justify inflated military budgets, also warning that the EU’s militarization drive risks escalating tensions.
Kubilius said the changes are also urgent given the US shift in foreign policy under President Donald Trump, citing the recent Venezuela raid, threats to Greenland – an autonomous territory within NATO member Denmark – and the new US National Security Strategy, which criticizes the EU and shifts Washington’s focus to the Western Hemisphere.
“Now it’s even more clear that we need to build Europe’s independence,” Kubilius said. “Uncertainty of the future of the transatlantic partnership demands our resolve.”
As a key NATO power, the US maintains around 100,000 personnel in Europe. While Trump earlier warned that deployments could be reduced, he denied plans for full withdrawal. His administration, however, stressed that continued US commitment depends on European allies meeting NATO’s 5% of GDP defense-spending target.
