Kalinak Again Rejects Idea of Joint European Army, NATO Should Control Defence

Bratislava, 14 January (TASR) – Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) has again rejected the idea of creating a joint European army, insisting that defence in Europe should be commanded by NATO, not the European Union. Speaking at a press conference during an away-from-home government session in the Bratislava district of Petrzalka, Kalinak was responding to remarks by EU Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius regarding the possible creation of a European army. The defence minister also met Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich. "NATO takes care of the security of its members. Full stop. And what would Europe want to build? How much money would it want to put into creating parallel structures? What kind of security council? Either we have it, the North Atlantic Alliance, or we don't — regardless of whether the United States is part of it today or there is a risk that it might leave at some point," said Kalinak. Kalinak added that he also met Supreme Allied Commander Europe Grynkewich. During their talks, they discussed air defence and the issue of so-called dual NATO–EU defence. "We agreed that we consider this to be very dangerous and, above all, extremely costly," said Kalinak. The Lithuanian EU commissioner said at a security conference in Sweden on Sunday (11 January) that the European Union should consider creating a permanent European army of 100,000 soldiers and reassessing the political processes governing defence. In view of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the shift of US attention away from Europe and threats directed at Greenland, Kubilius argued in favour of a "big bang" approach to rethinking Europe's joint defence. mf/df