Defence Ministry: CoFoE Idea of Creating Joint EU Army Difficult to Imagine

Bratislava, June 20 (TASR) – The creation of a common European army is very hard to imagine, the Defence Ministry has claimed, pointing to the fact that no particular proposal as to what such an army should look like is on the table at the moment, ministry spokesperson Martina Koval Kakascikova has told TASR.

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has revived the idea of a joint EU army.

“Our strategic documents – Slovakia’s Security and Defence Strategies – clearly state that the main pillar of Slovakia’s defence policy is NATO, which we consider to be the basis of European security and collective defence. However, even in the case of NATO, we don’t talk about a common army, but about a collection of national armies that cooperate,” explained the spokesperson. She noted that the Treaty on the European Union allows member states to view commitments stemming from NATO membership as the basis of their collective defence.

According to the Defence Ministry, Slovakia supports a gradual strengthening of European security in order to increase the ability of EU-member states to defend themselves. Therefore, it participates in defence initiatives under the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy. “Our main concern is for the EU to cooperate in coordinating increases in defence spending and in building up defence capabilities. It’s important for Slovakia that this process is carried out in line with NATO’s defence efforts,” stated Koval Kakascikova.