AEuropean army orEuropean Defence Force (EDF) are terms for a hypothetical army of theEuropean Union that would supersede theCommon Security and Defence Policy and would go beyond the proposedEuropean Defence Union. Since no such unified army is currently established, defence is a matter for themember states individually. The member states are, however, bound by several obligations arising from international treaties, and they conduct several multinational initiatives.
According to current Treaty on European Union Article 42(7):[1]
If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance byall the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States. ...
According to the legal opinion prepared for theEuropean Parliament, such obligation is stronger[2] thanNATO Article 5:
The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as itdeems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Both treaties recognize the Article 51 ofCharter of the United Nations which states:
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. ...
According to the above, a hypothetical attacker on the territory of the European Union would impose an obligatory reaction from all European Union Member States which (by all their means of their power) can use their military forces respectively:Austrian Armed Forces,Belgian Armed Forces,Bulgarian Armed Forces,Armed Forces of Croatia,Cypriot National Guard,Czech Armed Forces,Danish Armed Forces,Netherlands Armed Forces,Ireland Armed Forces,Italian Armed Forces,Lithuanian Armed Forces,Luxemburg Armed Forces,Latvian National Armed Forces,Estonian Defence Forces,Finnish Defence Forces,French Armed Forces,German Bundeswehr,Hellenic Armed Forces,Polish Armed Forces,Portuguese Armed Forces,Romanian Armed Forces,Slovak Armed Forces,Slovenian Armed Forces,Swedish Armed Forces, andSpanish Armed Forces, except situations where the Security Council has taken measures to restore peace according to Article 51 of United Nations Charter.[citation needed]
Eurocorps is an autonomous military force of France, Germany (Founding States), Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg and Poland (Framework States) and Austria, Greece, Italy, Romania and Turkey (Associate Members)[3] which aim is to maintain common Headquarters and Command of selected national military units, up to 65,000 personel.[4]
The soldiers of Eurocorps are provided by their respective nations. The missions of the Eurocorps are generally assigned under the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), under the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), or pursuant to a joint decision taken by the Contracting Parties. According to a separate agreement, Eurocorps forces can be put under the command of theSupreme Allied Commander Europe.[5]
EU battlegroup is military unit based on staff contributions from a coalition of EU member states in size around 1,500 personel and funded fromCommon Foreign and Security budget. Their deployment is subject to a unanimous decision by theCouncil of the European Union. Battlegroups are employable across the full range of tasks listed in Article 43(1) of the Treaty on European Union: conflict prevention, initial stabilisation, humanitarian interventions and rescue tasks, crisis management and peacekeeping. EU Battlegroups are based on the principle of multi-nationality allowing even non-EU members, for exampleNordic Battlegroup was joined by Norway which is not a member of the EU.[6]
In 1995, theEuropean Maritime Force was formed by France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain to fulfill missions such as sea control, humanitarian missions, peacekeeping operations, crisis response operations, and peace enforcement. Missions can be deployed under European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or United Nations (UN), mandate, and also as the four partner nations agree. The managing body of EMF is the High Level Inter-Ministerial Committee (CIMIN) composed by Chiefs of Defense (CHOD), Political Head Directorates of Defense and Foreign Affairs Ministries.[7]
European Gendarmerie Force is a multinational military gendarmerie force with units provided byKoninklijke Marechaussee,Arma dei Carabinieri,Guardia Civil,Gendarmerie Nationale Française,Guarda Nacional Republicana,Jandarmeria Română andŻandarmeria Wojskowa, performing missions deployed outside European Union for supporting local forces with training, intelligence, analysis, policing, the fight against organized crime and counter-terrorism, border management, including the fight against smuggling and trafficking of human beings. The management is performed by own High Level Interdepartmental Committee (“CIMIN” standing for “Comité InterMInistériel de haut Niveau”) where each member state is represented.[8]
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a highly ready and technologically advanced, multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the NATO Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed. TheSupreme Allied Commander Europe has 10 European NRF under command, includingAllied Rapid Reaction Corps (Gloucester, United Kingdom),Eurocorps (Strasbourg, France),Rapid Reaction Corps (Lille, France),1st (German/Netherlands) Corps (Münster, Germany),Rapid Deployable Corps-Greece (Thessaloniki),Rapid Deployable Corps-Italy (Solbiate Olona),Multinational Corps Northeast (Szczecin, Poland),Multinational Corps Southeast (Sibiu, Romania),Rapid Deployable Corps-Spain (Valencia),Rapid Deployable Corps-Turkey (Istanbul).[9]
The total personnel of NFR is around 40,000 troops.[10]
The idea of a European army was first discussed in the 1950s. It was proposed by France and would have consisted of the "Inner Six" countries (Belgium,France,Italy,Luxembourg, theNetherlands, andWest Germany), in order to strengthen defence againstthe Soviet threat without directly rearming Germany in the wake ofWorld War II.[11][12] In 1952 theTreaty establishing the European Defence Community was signed but not ratified by the signatories.[13]
However, during theCold War, Western Europe relied onNATO for defence, precluding the development of European cooperation.[14] Immediately after the "fall of communism", the defence apparatus was preoccupied byNATO expansion into the formerSoviet bloc. The idea of a European army gained popularity after theSeptember 11 attacks and NATO's involvement in conflicts outside of Europe. In a phenomenon dubbed diversification of European security, NATO has come to be responsible for "hard" threats while the European Union has taken a greater role in "soft" threats, including peacekeeping in the westernBalkans.[14] The 2009Treaty of Lisbon also has furthered defence integration within the EU.[14] This has led to support for a European Defence Union, which would be a step higher in collaboration than the currentCommon Security and Defence Policy.[15]
In 2019,Germany and the Netherlands activated414 Tank Battalion, the first that included soldiers from two EU countries. The battalion was created because Germany did not have enough soldiers, while the Netherlands lacked tank capability. This was described as a step towards a European army.[12] However, the experience of theFranco-German Brigade inAlsace has been different, facing challenges due to greater linguistic and cultural differences. Notably, Germany's "innate caution sinceWorld War II about military intervention."[12]
Under the current arrangement, there is no EU army and defence is reserved for the member states.[16]
The term "European army" is vague and it is not entirely clear what it would entail.[17] Increasing integration would make security more efficient and less expensive for member states.[15]
French presidentEmmanuel Macron and former German ChancellorAngela Merkel have both expressed their support for a joint European army. Macron endorsed the idea in 2018, after the United States withdrew from theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and in light of American PresidentDonald Trump's scepticism ofAtlanticism.[18] Other European politicians who have expressed support include former French prime ministerAlain Juppé (in 1996),[19] former Italian prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi, former European Commission PresidentJean-Claude Juncker, former Czech prime ministersMiloš Zeman andBohuslav Sobotka, and Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orbán. A European army is on the official programme of theEuropean People's Party.[20]
Former Dutch deputy prime ministerKajsa Ollongren supported the idea while former defence ministerAnk Bijleveld opposed it.[21] It is also opposed byEurosceptic politicians in the EU, such asRyszard Legutko.[11][18] NATO has been described as the "biggest obstacle" to a European army.[22]
A 2019 survey found that 37% of Dutch citizens "approved the idea of a European army" while 30% are opposed to formation of an army of all EU members.[23]
In 2021, thePresident of the Italian RepublicSergio Mattarella spoke about the need to create a European army, after the withdrawal ofNATO forces fromAfghanistan ended theWar in Afghanistan allowing the takeover by theTaliban.[24][25]FormerItalian Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi also spoke in favour of the creation of the European army to protect Europe's borders.[26]The ItalianArmy General,Claudio Graziano,Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, also expressed the need to set up a European army as soon as possible.[27]
At the 2021State of the Union address delivered by the President of the European Commission to the European Parliament,Ursula von der Leyen said toEuropean Union members that "what we need is the European Defence Union" and that "...the European Union is a unique security provider. There will be missions whereNATO or theUN will not be present but where Europe should be... There have been many discussions on expeditionary forces. On what type and how many we need: battlegroups or EUentry forces. This is no doubt part of the debate – and I believe it will be part of the solution. But the more fundamental issue is why this has not worked in the past." and announced a 'Summit on European defence'[28]
On 17 September 2021, theItalian Prime Minister,Mario Draghi talked about the European army at the end of the EuMed summit inAthens, with an urgent tone for its establishment.[29]
The announcement of theAUKUS "trilateral security partnership" betweenAustralia,UK andUS to "sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region" is seen as an attempt to limitChina's rise as a global military power. However, this has led to some mistrust inEurope, in particular inFrance, that has contributed to increasing the process of the formation of a European Army.[30][31][failed verification]
On 28 September 2021,Greece andFrance signed a multibillion-euro military agreement. The Greek prime ministerKyriakos Mitsotakis called the idea of a European army "a mature proposal" and that this agreement could be a first big step towards a European army.[32]
ThePaneuropean Union actively supports the creation of a European army.[33]
On 5 November 2024, in the midst ofDonald Trump's victory in the2024 United States presidential election,Luxembourgian Prime MinisterLuc Frieden called for the formation of a European Army stating that "Russia's unacceptable invasion of Ukraine has been a wake-up call."[34]
On 15 February 2025, in a speech at the61st Munich Security Conference, President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of an "Army of Europe" in order to counter Russia with the prospect of wavering support from the United States. This follows the previous day's speech of Vice President of the United StatesJD Vance, in which he called for Europe to "step up in a big way" in regards to its own defense.[35]
In a speech toSpain's parliament on 26 March 2025,Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez called for establishing a European army. He highlighted worries aboutRussia revivingits historical imperialist goals and stressed the need for Europe to strengthen its collective defense.[36]
According to NATO officials, the alliance has discouraged independent European defence capabilities, both as an attempt to avoid duplication and as amoral hazard effect from US defence subsidies prompting less military spending by European countries. The United States ambassador to NATO also expressed opposition to any Europeanprotectionism in developing its own defence industry. Former NATO Secretary-GeneralJens Stoltenberg said that the European Union could not defend itself without NATO and should not try to form a European army.[22]
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary ofNATO's presence in Italy, Mattarella spoke of a strengthening of European defense within the alliance with NATO.[37]
In April 2022,YouGov conducted a survey in sixteen European Union member countries and the United Kingdom asking for support for the creation of an integrated European army. The results of this survey are presented in the table below.[38]
| Country | Support | Opposition | Don't know | Lead | Change since 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Poland | 57 | 21 | 22 | +36 |  3% |
 Romania | 51 | 23 | 26 | +28 |  4% |
 Hungary | 50 | 29 | 21 | +21 | 5% |
 Lithuania | 62 | 22 | 16 | +40 | 5% |
 Finland | 53 | 21 | 25 | +32 | 8% |
 Sweden | 48 | 27 | 25 | +21 | 9% |
 Denmark | 41 | 39 | 20 | +2 | 5% |
 Spain | 64 | 21 | 15 | +43 | 7% |
 Greece | 55 | 27 | 17 | +28 | 8% |
 Italy | 50 | 30 | 20 | +20 |  0% |
 Netherlands | 61 | 23 | 17 | +38 | 9% |
 Germany | 58 | 27 | 15 | +31 | 4% |
 France | 55 | 24 | 21 | +31 | 3% |
 United Kingdom | 34 | 35 | 30 | –1 | 10% |
 Croatia | 49 | 23 | 28 | +26 | — |
 Slovakia | 44 | 37 | 19 | +7 | — |
 Bulgaria | 39 | 33 | 28 | +6 | — |