There is not going to be an "EU Army"
I have not lost sight that there is scaremongering going on by some people on both sides in the EU referendum campaign. Anyone who has had more than a cursory look at the articles on this blog will, I hope, recognise that I have been very critical of both, and the fact that I'm trying to share the truth about one of the issues Leave has bee scaremongering about in this post does not mean "Remain" have a pass from me.
Some of the things being said alleging that Britainwill have our armed forces subsumed into an "EU Army" if we vote Remain are beyond ridiculous.
As I have previously pointed out, no well-informed person should have a problem with Britain's armed forces taking part in common military action with our allies in Europe.
We have been doing it for years through NATO, of which the vast majority of members of the European Union are also members.
Has the fact that we have been working with the German Federal Republic through NATO for well over half a century, with British troops sometimes under the command of senior German officers and sometimes the other way round, meant the creation of a "NATO Army" which could take over our country?
Of course it hasn't.
And the fact that there are a few lines about military co-operation in the Lisbon treaty is not equivalent to the creation of a "European Army" and does not mean that German troops in EU uniforms would be in a position to take over our country or our borders either.
Now, I am completely convinced that the defence of western civilisation and of Europe can, will and should continue to be co-ordinated through the NATO alliance which is tried, tested, and works. And Britain can and would veto any EU action which might undermine NATO as long as we are not stupid enough to elect someone like Jeremy Corbyn.
(And if we ARE stupid enough to elect Jeremy Corbyn or someone like him, we will have problems whether Britain is inside or outside the EU!)
As Field Marshall Lord Bramall, former chief of the defence staff, pointed out in a letter to the Times this week, the co-operation between EU member states which is taking place or proposed through the EU rather than NATO is mainly to address situations not covered by the NATO charter and there is no reason to believe that we or any of the other nation whose defence has depended on NATO in the most dangerous times want or will allow this to undermine NATO.
As you can read here, an EU spokesperson has said that “There is absolutely no plan to set up an EU army."
Some of the things being said alleging that Britainwill have our armed forces subsumed into an "EU Army" if we vote Remain are beyond ridiculous.
As I have previously pointed out, no well-informed person should have a problem with Britain's armed forces taking part in common military action with our allies in Europe.
We have been doing it for years through NATO, of which the vast majority of members of the European Union are also members.
Has the fact that we have been working with the German Federal Republic through NATO for well over half a century, with British troops sometimes under the command of senior German officers and sometimes the other way round, meant the creation of a "NATO Army" which could take over our country?
Of course it hasn't.
And the fact that there are a few lines about military co-operation in the Lisbon treaty is not equivalent to the creation of a "European Army" and does not mean that German troops in EU uniforms would be in a position to take over our country or our borders either.
Now, I am completely convinced that the defence of western civilisation and of Europe can, will and should continue to be co-ordinated through the NATO alliance which is tried, tested, and works. And Britain can and would veto any EU action which might undermine NATO as long as we are not stupid enough to elect someone like Jeremy Corbyn.
(And if we ARE stupid enough to elect Jeremy Corbyn or someone like him, we will have problems whether Britain is inside or outside the EU!)
As Field Marshall Lord Bramall, former chief of the defence staff, pointed out in a letter to the Times this week, the co-operation between EU member states which is taking place or proposed through the EU rather than NATO is mainly to address situations not covered by the NATO charter and there is no reason to believe that we or any of the other nation whose defence has depended on NATO in the most dangerous times want or will allow this to undermine NATO.
As you can read here, an EU spokesperson has said that “There is absolutely no plan to set up an EU army."
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