NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said Europe does not need a single army, arguing that sovereignty concerns would block one and that NATO’s command structure makes it unnecessary.
Speaking to students at Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia, Mr Rutte said a European army would require countries to give up their national armies.
“I don’t think that will happen, for reasons of sovereignty,” he said. “And given the command and control structure in NATO, there is no need for such a thing.”
He warned that if duplicate structures separate from NATO were created within the European Union, it would take weeks to decide who would do what, leaving countries in a difficult position at the moment a decision was needed. Nobody would want that, he said.
Mr Rutte said NATO had a command and control system capable of enabling 32 separate national armies to work together.
He said a “European Security Council”, proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, would work alongside NATO if it were created.
“Because the EU has its own responsibility when it comes to resilience and on hybrid issues,” he said.