The European Union must unite and form a common army to protect its interests, Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a CSIS commentary published on Friday.
The CSIS executive, who discussed cooling U.S. interest as a guarantor of security in Europe, offered several recommendations to achieve political stability amid growing aggression from Moscow:
- having a standing common force that would belong to the EU collectively,
- the region’s biggest armies acting as the common force’s backbone,
- developing integrated capabilities and key enablers to support the common army, and
- creating a unified command structure.
Bergmann, who heads the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and the Stuart Center at CSIS, pointed out several challenges that could impact the effort, including deciding which nation would lead the force, the participation of the so-called “neutral countries” and whether there is a need to amend the European treaty. The official’s analysis also noted the previous attempts to establish such a force, from the early days of the Cold War to a revival campaign during the 1990s.
An opinion piece from another think tank argued for maintaining close ties with Washington and sharing risks to revitalize the defense industrial base amid growing global instability.