CNN Prima News | The European Army and the position of the Defense Commissioner

The next European Commission should have a new Commissioner for Defense. There is speculation that this position could go to the Czech Republic. However, some European politicians, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, are calling directly for the creation of European army. But what are the pitfalls of the project? Vít Havelka, a research fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, talked about the usefulness and possibilities for CNN Prima News.

"I don't think it's on the agenda in the foreseeable future if the security and geopolitical situation remains as it is today. (...) The interesting thing about European military integration is that it has always focused on things that were not dealt with by NATO or needed some additional cooperation and additional capabilities at the European level to NATO itself. That's why, for example, the EU after the end of the Cold War for a long time focused primarily on the aspects of peacekeeping or foreign missions. But not on territorial defence. Therefore, in order to consider the creation of a structure similar to NATO, there would have to be a fundamental change, both at the geopolitical level and in our thinking."

You can watch the full debate here.

Vít Havelka
Senior Research Fellow

Expertise: EU institutional relations with member states, europeisation, transformation role of EU