Kubilius: Europe needs European Security Council and standing army of 100,000 troops

This was stated by European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, who spoke at a national security conference on “Europe under pressure” in the Swedish city of Selen on Sunday, Ukrinform reports.

He recalled that recent polls in Spain, Belgium, Germany, and some other EU countries showed that “about 70% of citizens prefer their country to be defended by a European army rather than a national army (10%) or NATO (12%).”

Kubilius cited the United States as an example: “Would the US be stronger if it had 50 state armies instead of a single federal army, or 50 state defense policies and defense budgets instead of a single federal defense policy and budget? The answer is no. So what are we waiting for?”

He stressed that Europe must resolve the most pressing issues regarding its institutional defense readiness: "If the Americans leave Europe, how will we create a European pillar of NATO? Who will be the European commander of NATO forces? What about European command and control capabilities and a European headquarters? Most importantly, how will we replace the 100,000-strong American regular military forces that form the backbone of military power in Europe?"

The question remains open because, according to Kubilius, the existing small national “bonsai armies” will not be able to perform this task on their own.

In this regard, he called for the creation of a unified European military force of 100,000 troops, an idea first proposed by then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and now supported by experts and ordinary Europeans.

Andrius Kubilius also said that work needs to be done to create a European Defense Union, one of the tasks he was given when he took office. In this regard, the following questions remain open: “Should the United Kingdom and Norway be included? Should the Armed Forces of Ukraine, its defense industry, and its combat-proven experience be included?”

He also called for the modernization of the European defense industry through political leadership and the effective development of European defense projects.

The Commissioner believes that Europe must also be prepared to answer the question of how the European Union can prepare for the implementation of Article 42(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding the mutual assistance obligation for Member States facing armed aggression.

In this regard, Kubilius called for the creation of a single leadership platform to discuss the most important issues of European defense.

"My personal proposal is to make more intensive use of the positive experience of the informal E5+ platform for such strategic discussions. It would be important to update and formalize such a platform into the format of the European Security Council," Kubilius said, recalling that this issue had already been proposed and discussed between 2017 and 2019, but had not been implemented.

The European Commissioner believes that the European Security Council could consist of key permanent members, as well as several members on a rotational basis, including the EU member state holding the EU Council presidency, the leadership of the European Commission, and the President of the European Council.

If the European Security Council discusses broader European security issues, it could also include the UK, Kubilius believes.

In his opinion, the ESC, which will consist of about 12 countries, will have to discuss the most important defense issues and quickly prepare important decisions.

“The urgent task now is to turn this idea into reality,” Kubilius said, adding that the first issue to be addressed by the European Security Council will be Ukraine.

"There are currently no signs that Putin will agree to a peace plan. In this case, simply continuing our support for Ukraine at the same level risks worsening the situation in Ukraine and, ultimately, carries the risk that Putin will win. We need a clear answer: how will the European Union change this scenario? And that is why we need the European Security Council right now," Kubilius concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, Kubilius made his first visit to Portugal this week, where he met with Minister of National Defense Nuno Melo to discuss European defense readiness, the implementation of the SAFE defense credit program, and further support for Ukraine.

He also met with the leadership of the Portuguese Air Force, attended hearings in the parliamentary committees on European affairs and defense, met with Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation Fernando Alexandre to discuss space policy, and held a roundtable with leading stakeholders in the field of defense and space.

It is known that applications for loans under the SAFE program, whose initial budget was EUR 150 billion, already exceed this budget by approximately 25% — that is, by almost EUR 40 billion.

Andrius Kubilius noted that EU member states have submitted applications to the European Commission for funding for 691 defense projects, confirming significant interest in the SAFE secure loan program.

Fifteen EU member states have also included support for Ukraine in their applications.