EU’s top diplomat: Advocates for pan-European army ‘haven’t really thought this through’

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rejects calls for a Europe-wide army, warning that it could be “extremely dangerous,” as the bloc considers ways to provide its own security after the United States warned that its priorities lie elsewhere.

Talk of a European army has resurfaced amid tensions within the NATO alliance over US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, the semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

“Those who say that we need a European army, maybe those people haven’t really thought this through practically,” Kallas says. “If you are already part of NATO then you can’t create a separate army.”

Kallas tells a security conference in Norway that the most important military asset during a crisis “is the chain of command — who gives orders to whom.”

She adds: “And if you have, like the European army and then you have the NATO (one), then, you know, the ball just falls between the chairs. And this is extremely, extremely dangerous.”

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says: “NATO is there with the decision-making process among allies, which is in itself complex, but it is trained to work.” He rejects calls for a European army, saying that “it is not a road we should travel.” Norway is not a member of the EU.