Speaking to the German Press Agency on Monday, Hans-Peter Bartels renewed calls on the EU's militaries to unite into a single armed force.
His statement came amid growing concerns about the reliability of NATO as well as the disorganization and fragmentation of national defense structures.
The idea of a single EU army has been in the air for several years. Since around 2013, Berlin has been overseeing efforts towards closer EU defense integration through the Framework Nations Concept, which stipulates that Germany share its troops and capabilities with other European countries.
Earlier in March, Brussels announced the opening of a joint military headquarters. However, according to EU Foreign Affairs Minister Federica Mogherini, these headquarters should not be considered the same thing as an EU army.
#NickClegg described the idea of an #EU army as a "dangerous fantasy that is simply not true". How wrong he was. https://t.co/lQHbJyykKn pic.twitter.com/dTs3v81D1O
— BREXIT BRITAIN 🇬🇧 (@EUVoteLeave23rd) 20 июня 2017 г.
In an interview with Sputnik, Dick Zandee, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute, said that talk of the creation of a full-fledged European army is currently irrelevant given that it is still unclear what the timeline is for establishing the institution.
"In my view, talking about the European army means that you are talking about an army which has one government and one commander. This is a pure fantasy and dreaming because we still have [sovereign nation-states] in Europe and no [EU] member is ready to send its troops abroad to wage war or carry out peace operations without deciding to do so at the national level," Zandee said.
"What is of course more realistic," he believes, is to bolster cooperation between European countries by holding joint military exercises and taking a coordinated approach to other issues of mutual interest.
"There is a lot of emotional rhetoric about the European army, but my first question is how you will define this army, given that no politician has yet given a clear definition of what it means. So in my view this is another example of political rhetoric which is not really aligned with what happens in real life," Zandee added.
He specifically drew attention to the fact that "there is no European country that supports the creation of the European army [with one government and one commander] as I described it."
Zandee pointed out that "as for Poland, Romania, the Baltic States and the countries that have joined NATO most recently," they show little support for the idea of creating a European army because they fear that it will be to the detriment of Europe and NATO."
He predicted that the next decade will see the formation of smaller European military groups, not one overarching pan-European entity, something which he said is "complete dreaming."
The paper was signed by two Commission Vice Presidents, Federica Mogherini and Jyrki Katainen.
The authors of the document reaffirmed their support for the ultimate scenario of European military cooperation, including the creation of an integrated security system, conducting military operations outside NATO, the establishment of a European cybersecurity system and the revamping of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.