Are we closer to a European army?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
During a speech to the Spanish parliament earlier this year, the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez claimed there’s one thing that would guarantee lasting peace in Europe.
His idea is the creation of a new army drawn from the 27 countries whose governments already work together as members of the European Union.
The concept isn't a new one - and NATO already exists, the military alliance which includes EU member states and other European countries.
But talk of a new military force is reappearing as the continent becomes more vulnerable to threats. Its ally the US is increasingly unreliable and unpredictable too.
Other European leaders are also backing the idea
This week we’re asking - “Are we closer to a European army?”
Contributors:
Dick Zandee, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Security and Defence Programme at the Clingendael Institute
Dr Ulrike Franke, Senior Policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
Oana Lungescu, Distinguished fellow with the Royal United Services Institute and former NATO spokesperson
Prof. Dr. Sven Biscop, Director of the Europe in the World Programme at Egmont.
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Daniel Rosney
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Toby James
Production Coordinator - Tammy Snow
(Image Credit: FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy. |
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| 0:38.9 | Welcome to the Inquiry. I'm Charmaine Cozier. Each week, one question, four expert witnesses, |
| 0:45.1 | and an answer. |
| 0:48.5 | 2025, Madrid. During a speech to the Spanish Parliament, the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez |
| 0:58.5 | suggests one thing he claims would guarantee lasting peace in Europe. |
| 1:05.8 | It's the creation of a new army, drawn from the 27 countries whose governments already work together as members of the European Union or EU. |
| 1:15.3 | We do not need a European army. We need 27 European armies that are capable and can effectively work together to deter our rivals and defend Europe. |
| 1:31.0 | The idea isn't a new one and NATO already exists. |
| 1:35.0 | That military alliance includes EU and other European countries. |
| 1:41.2 | But talk of a new military force is reappearing as the continent becomes more vulnerable to threats. |
| 1:46.1 | Its ally the US is increasingly unreliable and unpredictable too. |
| 1:51.7 | I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that. |
| 1:54.6 | Other European leaders are also backing the idea. |
... |
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