The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, stated this Tuesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that the third stage of European construction will necessarily involve the acquisition of its own security and defence capabilities.
During a meeting organised by the New Economy Forum in the EU capital, Josep Borrell said that some heads of state and government of the 27 Member States have made it clear to the European Commission that they do not want a transfer of defence competences, as they consider it to be "a sign of national sovereignty", but this should not prevent them from seeking greater unity in this area within the EU.
The High Representative considered that the European Union is in the third stage of its construction. The first was the Common Market of 1957, the second was the acceleration of economic integration through the single market and the single currency, and now the war in Ukraine has initiated the third.
This new stage, he predicted, "will lead to the birth of a strong European security and defence pillar", and the question is how to proceed to achieve this "new and ambitious goal".
Borrell was clear and emphasised that "we do not have an army in Brussels and tomorrow we will not have a European army", but he was sure that "the institutional framework of defence and security in Europe will be one of the most important political debates between the states and with the European Parliament" in the next legislature.
Among the challenges, he pointed to cooperation at intergovernmental level, developing the pillar of community defence in accordance with the competences of the Treaty, and building a stronger partnership with our allies in the world "to defend our values" and for the EU to be recognised internationally as an actor with "real values".
