But how hard is it to create a European army, exactly? The debate usually focuses on the flashy bits of defence policy, like aeroplanes and tanks. This is understandable, but it’s a fundamentally misleading exercise: it’s like trying to build a skyscraper by focusing on its interior design first.

More specifically, a piece of equipment is rarely better or worse than another in absolute terms – it’s just suited to different roles. Therefore, before any equipment can be built for common European armed forces, the political leadership will have to decide what their job is going to be. And that brings us to the first step of our easy to-do list.

1) Create A European General Staff

Equipment, procurement, and logistics are the three founding blocks of any common European defense project. But in order to to work on any of these, we first need a European general staff, i.e. a group of high-ranking generals, planners and thinkers whose job is to plan for the future.

Starting from the political vision behind the project, the General Staff will have to develop a new doctrine that reflects the job Europeans expect their armed forces to perform. This can range from something as simple as defending Europe’s territorial integrity and patrolling the Mediterranean, to something as complex as projecting naval power into the Arctic, or building expeditionary capabilities in support of NATO and U.N. missions abroad.

While this doctrine is developed, European Member States will keep taking care of defence. Due to the enormity of the undertaking, it is unlikely that these militaries will ever be fully incorporated into a single European army. It is far likelier that they would continue to serve as a sort of equivalent to the U.S. National Guard. They would certainly still shoulder core responsibilities while a common EU defence is in its infancy.

Naturally, the general staff will not work in isolation, and the final word on what they produce will ultimately lie with elected representatives and governments.

2) Harmonise Infrastructure

So you have a general staff and a plan? Good! For our next step, we’re going to need a European-wide military-industrial complex with common standards to follow for equipment, shipping, logistics, etc. This will also require sustained investment in the road and rail network all over the continent, as that is critical to the swift deployment of forces.

European countries currently depend on the United States for logistics and supplies, especially when it comes to mounting expeditions abroad. This, however, also applies to research and development, production of spare parts, ammunition and so on. Not all EU countries are reliant on the USA to the same degree, but the bottom line is that European militaries cannot resupply themselves, and plugging this gap is going to prove both time-consuming and expensive.

The EU is also likely going to need an equivalent of DARPA in the United States – that is, an agency that is responsible for oversight over research and development, as well as investment in innovation. While this will primarily impact a European army, it will also be responsible to develop dual-use (civilian and military) technology.

3) Start Developing Equipment

Once doctrine has been defined and the underpinning infrastructure is in place, it’s finally time to begin producing equipment that is optimised for the EU’s specific operational needs. If you’re thinking of long rows of tanks coming out of assembly lines, you’re only partially correct – a significant part of the effort would go towards building ammunition according to the specifications developed before.

Nevertheless, platforms would be an important component of the production effort. A platform is a basic piece of equipment that can be adapted to fulfill different operational roles. As an example, a fighter jet is a platform: most fighters can be flown in radically different configurations and with specialised equipment, allowing them to carry out different tasks.

Since the first two steps alone are likely to take several years, it is premature to discuss today what kind of platforms the future EU armed forces might use. Should the Union have a defensive fleet, based on frigates and submarines, or an offensive one based on carriers, destroyers, and amphibious assault ships? Are Main Battle Tanks still relevant, or should the armed forces favour more specialised designs?

There are no clear-cut answers to these questions, much less answers that will remain valid twenty or thirty years into the future. The picture is complicated by the differences of opinions within Member States, with some (like France) having worldwide interests and commitments, while others (like Germany) preferring to focus on core internal tasks.
Ultimately, these questions will be settled once production for a European army is actually ready to begin.

4) Train And Develop

As equipment becomes available, it will be possible to train larger numbers of servicemen, until reaching the numbers necessary to complete the European army. Training serves a dual purpose, as it allows for large-scale equipment tests and provides substantial quantities of feedback to work with. This will allow an ongoing process of correcting issues, and refining the equipment itself.

With these four steps completed, the European Armed Forces can now become a reality! As should be apparent, this is a long-term undertaking that will likely require at least twenty, maybe thirty years of steady work in peacetime. As such, it deservedly ranks among the most difficult, ambitious, and forward-looking projects of European integration that could be pursued in the future.

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The fear of Russian aggression stems from then 2014 annexation of Crimea, where complex hibrid tactics were employed by the Russians to ensure control fast and easy. A copy of the 2014 scenario is the Baltics is unlikely, but there is also a need to reassure the political leaders and people of said countries about their safety – and Kremlin media tends to wax apoplectyc about any increased state of readiness in the Baltics. The best and most European way to do so is that small countries together stand up against larger bullies, and therefore Denmark and many other European and non-European countries are pulling their weight in the operation.

Source: Danmarks Radio

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