Military integration could bring Euro army

IN June this year the Dutch 11th airmobile brigade officially joined the German army in a ceremony attended by the Dutch and German defence ministers.

Dutch soldiers will now serve as part of a German division of rapid-response troops under the command of German general.

The Dutch admit its motivation is to pool equipment and training in order to cut costs.

This sets a major precedent for how other European nations could integrate and cut costs without weakening their militaries. As the economic crisis bites, more EU countries may ‘go Dutch.’

However, the trade-off here is the loss of sovereignty. The 
Dutch now need approval 
from the Germans in order to rapidly deploy their own 
troops.

By forming these kinds of agreements with its neighbours, Germany hopes to build an integrated European army 
piece by piece since its grand designs to create one more quickly have so far been thwarted by Nato favouring nations like Britain.

For decades Germany has refrained from being too assertive because of its warmongering past. But now it is casting off that restraint and finding a more muscular voice in foreign affairs as it pushes for a European army.