The EU army is needed to prevent conflict. Photo/Reuters
ROMA – Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called European Union (The EU) must form its own joint force that can play a role in maintaining peace and preventing conflict.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Tajani said that closer European cooperation in the field of defense was a priority for the Forza Italia party he leads.
“If we want to be peacekeepers in the world, we need a European military. And this is a fundamental prerequisite for being able to have an effective European foreign policy,” he said in an interview published on Sunday.
“In a world with powerful players like the United States, China, India, Russia – with crises from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific – citizens of Italy, Germany, France or Slovenia can only be protected by something that already exists, namely the European Union, he added.
European defense cooperation has been on the political agenda since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago.
However, its efforts are more focused on NATO expansion, with Finland joining the alliance last year and Sweden also set to become a member.
Tajani also said the 27-nation EU should simplify its leadership and have one president, rather than the current structure of European Council president and European Commission president.
The foreign minister became Forza Italia’s leader after Silvio Berlusconi’s death last year.
European Parliament elections in June will be the first measure of the party’s popularity after losing its charismatic former leader.
(ahm)
2024-01-07 13:45:00
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