European Union wants its own military, claiming it will save money currently being wasted

The European Union wants its own military- and with it, an official headquarters.

According to the BBC, Luxembourgish President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the lack of a “permanent structure” for a common European allied military has resulted in money being wasted on missions.

With the UK’s desired and scheduled exit from the European Union, the EU’s proponents for an “Euroforce” find themselves facing less resistance to forming an EU-centric military alliance that would be similar to but not (currently) be in competition with the long-established North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.

In a recent speech, Juncker said a common military force “should be in complement to NATO” and that “More defense in Europe doesn’t mean less transatlantic solidarity.”

Furthermore, he suggested a European Defence Fund that would stimulate military research and development for European nations.

While the concept of the militarization of the European Union is not a new one, many winds have begun blowing in the direction of ramping up the idea, particularly in light of Russian aggression and annexation over the past few years.

In addition to increasing military spending and talks of an EU military, several countries -such as France, Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania- are discussing reinstating the draft as well.

The call of an EU-centric military force could prove to be as detrimental to the United States -and NATO- as it could be beneficial. With European countries speaking of allied military development and research, as well as a unified force, the American military and defense machine could find themselves slowly being sourced out of their current high-profile role in European defense.

Likewise, the United Kingdom has expressed mix concern over an EU Army, particularly in regards to their current division over the recent “Brexit” ruling to leave the EU, as well as being a direct rival to NATO and shunning US influence.

“Such a proposition is dangerous because, by establishing its own command structure, the EU is setting itself up as a direct rival to NATO,” Daily Telegraph Defence Editor Con Coughlin wrote. “There are many in Europe, particularly in France, who resent America’s dominant role in the transatlantic alliance, even though it is largely due to American firepower that Europe has enjoyed peace and prosperity since the end of the Second World War,” adding that it would be unlikely that an all-EU force could defeat an all-out Russian offense without American help.

Coughlin went on to say that “another obstacle that makes the creation of an EU army unworkable is that, while many young men and women are willing to sign up to serve their country, they would be less willing to do so for a bunch of faceless bureaucrats in Brussels.”