There is no longer any pretence from the EU — they are preparing their own army. This is no longer hidden.

Graham Charles Lear
3 min readNov 5, 2019

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Coat of arms,
EU Military Staff

The European Defence Union is an official EU policy

The European Defence Union is an official EU policy

Even the EU now calls it “the European Army”

There is no longer any pretence from the EU — they are preparing their own army. This is no longer hidden.

“It took us a few weeks. And we decided it together, still at 28, and we did it…. Over this past year, our common [EU] defence has advanced more than in the previous 60 years.” — Federica Mogherini, EU Commission Vice-President & de facto Defence & Foreign Secretary, Jun 2017

“The first missions under EU flag were launched already back in 2003. Since then, 34 EU missions have operated on three continents.” — EU’s ‘European External Action Service’, 24 Aug 2018

“We need to be ready to redefine our decision-making and sometimes to waive unanimity… We need to create a European Security Council… We need to create a European Deployment Force with which Europe can act quickly… We should work on the vision one day to create a true European Army… Jean-Claude Juncker said it four years ago: ‘A common European army’ — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speech to EU Parliament, 13 Nov 2018

“Europe is forming an army. A united EU military is becoming a reality.”
– Ursula von der Leyen, former German Defence Minister and new EU Commission President, in her own article in the German press, 10 Jan 2019

These are not just words — they mean it. Look at the money being spent

  1. EU defence budgets rocketing — 50-fold increase in EU defence budget from Jan 2021

2. The defence budget will rise from €0.5bn (2014–2020) to €31.3bn (2021–2027)

3. Includes an off-budget’ fund of €10.5bn, controlled by the EU’s de facto Defence Secretary

4. Under the Government’s new Withdrawal Treaty the UK will keep paying billions

MPs and all Remainers including Jo Swinson this comes from the EU Council and Hansard and is indisputable.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new Withdrawal Treaty

This gives the EU an effective veto on our foreign policy. We will not be allowed to undertake “any action or initiative” which the EU thinks might damage the EU’s interests, and it positions UK defence under the EU Global Strategy. (Articles 129, 132, 156–157)

UK shipbuilders will still lose out: The awarding of UK defence contracts must still obey EU rules

Tendering is currently open for the MOD’s support-ship contract, potentially providing work for shipyards from the Clyde to Portsmouth. Post-Brexit, still under EU rules, the UK can keep only a small proportion of sensitive defence contracts in the UK.

An independent United Kingdom must have complete independence over the defence of the realm

[ Sources: EU Commission | Hansard | NATO ]

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Graham Charles Lear

What is life without a little controversy in it? Quite boring and sterile would be my answer.