The European Union should have its own military headquarters and Brexit talks should begin “as soon as possible”, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said.
Jean-Claude Juncker warned the bloc is facing an “existential crisis”.
Junker called for a joint command headquarters for EU military missions and greater defence cooperation, reviving long-running efforts to reduce reliance on the United States.
“We must have a European headquarters and so we should work towards a common military force,” Mr Juncker told the European Parliament.
“This should be to complement NATO,” he said, also outlining proposals for a common defence fund.
"From an economic point of view, bringing together our military resources could be clearly justified. The lack of cooperation is something that is costing Europe 20 to 100 billion euros a year," Reuters cited him as saying.
"For European defence to be strong, the European defence industry needs to innovate. That is why we will propose before the end of the year a European Defence Fund, to turbo boost research and innovation," Juncker added.
