Radoslaw Sikorski made the remarks after Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called for the bloc to establish a 100,000-strong force<\/p>\n
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has dismissed the idea of a joint EU army as \u201cunrealistic,\u201d after the bloc\u2019s defense commissioner floated the idea earlier this month, citing the perceived threat from Russia and shifting US national security priorities.
\nThe EU has repeatedly cited the \u2018Russian threat\u2019 as the pretext for a rapid military buildup. Moscow has dismissed the claims as \u201cnonsense.\u201d
\nSpeaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday, Sikorski stated that \u201ctalking about a federal army is pointless, because it\u2019s unrealistic, because the national armies won\u2019t merge.\u201d He instead suggested a \u201cEuropean legion\u2026 which could be joined by citizens of member states, and perhaps even candidate states,\u201d as quoted by the Polish Press Agency.
\nThe bloc\u2019s foreign policy and security chief, Kaja Kallas, has also expressed skepticism, saying she cannot imagine EU nations creating \u201ca separate European army.\u201d
\nEarlier this month, EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius argued that the bloc should establish a \u201cpowerful, standing European military force of 100,000 troops,\u201d citing a shift in US strategic priorities and calls for the bloc to shoulder more of its own defense.<\/p>\n
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Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, in a controversial speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, echoed the sentiment, calling for a united European army in which Kiev would play a key role.
\nProtocol No.7 of the Treaty of Lisbon \u2013 the last of the EU\u2019s founding agreements \u2013 stipulates that it \u201cdoes not provide for the creation of a European army or for conscription to any military formation.\u201d
\nNevertheless, discussions have intensified in recent years, particularly amid cooling US-EU relations and US President Donald Trump\u2019s threats to forcibly seize Greenland \u2013 an autonomous territory controlled by Denmark. Several EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have called for greater strategic autonomy.
\nRussia has dismissed Western claims that it plans to attack EU countries. In November, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is prepared to provide the EU and NATO with written security guarantees. According to Putin, it\u2019s the EU that \u201cdoes not have a peaceful agenda. They are on the side of war.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Radoslaw Sikorski made the remarks after Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called for the bloc to establish a 100,000-strong force Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has dismissed the idea of a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t