Macron's EU army dreams crushed by Von der Leyen - 'EU will never be a military alliance'
EMMANUEL MACRON's dreams of building a common EU army were crushed by incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, who ruled out the creation of any such force.
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As she unveiled her new European Commission in Brussels yesterday she said NATO is the essential defence organisation - not the European Union. Mr Macron last year claimed the EU would not be "protected" until all European Union members states agreed to the need for a "real European army".
Speaking to Europe 1 to defend his support for the EU Army project, the French President said in November: "I believe in a project of a sovereign Europe, a powerful Europe.
"We won’t protect Europeans if we don’t settle on having a real European Army."
But von der Leyen said on Tuesday: “The European Union will never be a military alliance”.
She added: "Nato will always be our collective defence.”
Her bitter blow to Mr Macron’s vision for the EU came after von der Leyen told Spain's Josep Borrell in a letter the EU needs to take "decisions in a faster and more efficient way" and that its constraints "hamper our foreign policy".
Mr Macron has repeatedly been warned against pushing for the slow moving European Commission to form a military alliance.
He called for the creation of a "true European army" amid threats from Russia and the US.
Speaking to Europe 1 radio, Mr Macron said: “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America.
“When I see President Trump announcing that he’s quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s Euro-missile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security.”
“We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on the United States, in a more sovereign manner.”