By Chinonyerem Emmanuel
Spain is pressing the European Union to take decisive steps toward creating a joint European army, arguing that deeper military integration is essential to protect the bloc from external pressure and geopolitical coercion.
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares made the case in comments to Reuters on Wednesday, as global leaders gathered for high-level meetings in Davos and EU officials prepared for emergency talks in Brussels.
Albares said Europe should begin by pooling and coordinating its existing military capabilities, starting with closer integration of the EU’s fragmented defence industry.
From there, he argued, member states could mobilize a “coalition of the willing” that would lay the groundwork for a more unified European force. According to Albares, such an approach would allow the EU to move beyond symbolic cooperation and toward a credible deterrent that reflects its collective economic and political weight.
While acknowledging ongoing debates over whether European citizens would support deeper military integration, Albares said the likelihood of assembling a critical mass of support is far greater at the EU level than within individual countries.
“A joint effort would be more efficient than 27 separate national armies,” he said, adding that Europe’s current model leads to duplication, inefficiency and weakened strategic autonomy.
His remarks come as EU leaders prepare for an emergency meeting aimed at coordinating a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats to buy or annex Greenland, a territory that belongs to EU member Denmark.
Although Trump later said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had established a framework for dialogue, European officials have made clear that the episode has heightened concerns about the bloc’s vulnerability to political and military pressure from even its closest allies.
A spokesperson for the European Council confirmed that the emergency meeting would proceed despite Trump’s apparent softening of his stance. Albares said Spain’s position remained unchanged, even as tensions appeared to ease.
A senior Spanish official added that Madrid welcomed any genuine pathway for dialogue within NATO, but stressed that Europe must still strengthen its own capacity to act independently when necessary.
Speaking after a separate meeting in New Delhi with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Albares said discussions there also touched on deepening defence cooperation, reflecting Europe’s broader effort to build security partnerships beyond its immediate neighborhood.
At the same time, he emphasized that calls for a European army are not intended to undermine or replace NATO.
“The transatlantic alliance remains essential,” Albares said. “But Europe must demonstrate that it is not a place that will allow itself to be coerced, whether militarily or economically.”
In his view, a stronger European defence posture would ultimately complement NATO by making Europe a more capable and reliable partner.
The idea of a unified European army is not new. It was first proposed in 1951 in the early years of European integration, partly as a way to counter the Soviet Union and manage Germany’s rearmament after World War II.
That plan ultimately collapsed in 1954 when it was rejected by France’s parliament, and the concept has resurfaced periodically ever since, often in response to moments of crisis.
For Albares, today’s geopolitical environment makes revisiting the idea unavoidable.
“The idea of European defence was part of the origin of the EU,” he said. “It is up to my generation to finish this task.”
As tensions over Greenland and broader questions about Europe’s strategic autonomy continue to dominate diplomatic discussions, Spain’s call adds new momentum to a long-running debate over whether the European Union should finally move from coordination to genuine military integration.
Source Reuters
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