Spain pushes EU for joint army amid Greenland tensions
Spain is calling on the European Union to move toward creating a joint army, presenting it as a deterrence measure, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in Davos.
Albares suggested the EU should first consolidate its tangible assets to integrate its defense industry and then mobilize a “coalition of the willing,” News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
He acknowledged that public willingness to assemble militarily is a “legitimate debate,” but said a joint effort would be more efficient than 27 separate national armies.
The remarks precede an emergency EU leaders’ meeting in Brussels on Thursday to coordinate a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to buy or annex Greenland. A Council spokesperson confirmed the meeting will proceed despite Trump claiming on social media that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had “formed the framework of a deal.”
Speaking after a meeting in Delhi with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Albares stressed that a European army would not replace NATO, highlighting the continued importance of the transatlantic alliance. “But we need to demonstrate that Europe is not a place that will let itself be coerced militarily or economically,” he said.
A senior foreign official noted that Spain’s position remained unchanged even after Trump backtracked on Greenland, welcoming a possible NATO-mediated dialogue.
The idea of a supranational European military dates back to 1951 as a measure against the Soviet Union and to manage German rearmament, but it was rejected by France’s parliament in 1954.
By Nijat Babayev
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