The Italian Foreign Minister called on the European Union to create a united army

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that the European Union should create a united army. In his opinion, Europe needs common peacekeeping forces that could participate in the prevention and settlement of possible conflicts.

In an interview with the La Stampa newspaper, Tajani emphasized that closer military cooperation within the European Union is a priority for him and the Forza Italia party, which he heads.

“If we want to play the role of peacekeepers in the world, we need a European army. This is a fundamental condition for an effective foreign policy in Europe,” Tajani said.

He also added that in a world where such major political players as the USA, China, India, and Russia operate, and where political crises in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region are intensifying, “citizens of Italy, Germany, France, or Slovenia can protect only the already existing structure, namely the European Union”.

In addition, Tajani called for the reform of the European political structure itself. In his opinion, Europe should have one formal leader, not two, as now – the chairman of the European Council and the head of the European Commission.

• After the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, European countries are expanding and modernizing their armed forces and increasing their military budgets. They also pay more attention to issues of defense cooperation. However, Reuters clarifies, these efforts take place for the most part within the framework of cooperation within NATO, and not on an exclusively European platform.