NATO Military Committee Chair Dragone: An 'European Army' is unthinkable

NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone held a press conference at NATO Headquarters following the NATO Military Committee Conference of Chiefs of Defence held in Brussels, Belgium. During the press conference, which he held alongside Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Christopher G. Cavoli and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Admiral Pierre Vandier, Dragone stated that NATO member countries must significantly accelerate the strengthening of their defense capabilities.

Stating that there is a need for "fairer burden sharing" within NATO, Dragone said that NATO's military leadership expects the promises made by political leaders at the NATO summit held in Ankara in July to be transformed into "concrete results" and for the delivery of necessary capabilities to be accelerated.

Harsh criticism of Europe's defense industry

Directing harsh criticism at the European defense industry, Dragone said, "We must acknowledge that the speed of delivery and supply of all capabilities required for our deterrence and defense must be dramatically increased and improved."

Addressing arms manufacturers directly, Admiral Dragone stated, "I strongly urge you to accelerate defense industry production and adapt your business models to this necessity. Enough with the fragmentation."

"We are not at war, but we are not at peace"

Admiral Dragone also noted that the security situation in Europe remains extremely tense. Dragone remarked, "We are not at war, but we are not at peace."

"An 'European Army' is unthinkable"

When asked during the press conference about the possibility of Europe establishing a joint European army without NATO, Admiral Dragone said, "I think there is a misunderstanding here. First, there is only one set of forces, and second, there is the issue of sovereignty. Each nation has only one army. These are the nation's sole army and force provider."

Dragone continued, "Therefore, an 'European Army' is unthinkable. It would be a contradiction in terms and absurd. Because NATO does not have an army. And furthermore, each nation retains sovereignty over its own army. So, they are the ones who decide what to do. And ultimately, they provide us, that is NATO, with what we need as a force provider. Therefore, we should view the European Union as the European pillar of NATO."

Pointing out that if Europe were to conduct a military operation, it would still use the same set of forces that NATO possesses, Dragone said, "That is why we need to talk about the European column, the pillar of NATO. That is the fundamental issue."

NATO's top commander in Europe, General Christopher G. Cavoli, answered a question during the press conference regarding the possibility of more US troops withdrawing from Europe in the future. Cavoli said, "As the European pillar of the Alliance strengthens, this allows the US to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing capabilities that allies cannot yet provide."

General Cavoli stated, "Therefore, as allies develop their own capacities, we should expect the redeployment of US forces over time." Cavoli noted that this is a process that will take several years and could change to the extent that European countries fulfill the spending commitments they made in The Hague and reach their capability targets.

During his remarks, Cavoli confirmed that the number of troops the US would withdraw from Europe would be 5,000, as previously announced by US President Donald Trump.