Spain’s Foreign Minister has renewed calls for the creation of a permanent European army, saying the continent cannot continue “wondering what the US will do next.”
Speaking to Politico this week, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Europe needed “a military, a common defence capacity” amid growing uncertainty surrounding American foreign policy and the future direction of NATO.
“We cannot be waking up every morning wondering what the US will do next,” Albares said.
“Our citizens deserve better.”
Albares argued that strengthening Europe’s collective military capabilities would not weaken NATO, comparing the proposal to the centralised structure of the American armed forces.
“We need a military, a common defence capacity,” he said.
“The United States have been making their army stronger and stronger and no one thinks that that weakens NATO. If NATO is not providing any more the security that was given before … [then] we have to do more as Europeans.”
The comments come amid heightened geopolitical tensions following the escalation of conflict involving Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, alongside renewed debate in Europe over strategic autonomy and defence spending.
He also referenced the recent withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany by US President Donald Trump following diplomatic disagreements involving Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Albares suggested that Europe now needed to recreate the deterrent effect historically associated with NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause.
“The magic of NATO is that you are in NATO and nothing happens because no one dares to try to check if Article 5 really works or not,” he said.
“That’s what we have to recreate – the deterrence. That if you want to mess with me, go somewhere else. Because we will stand together.”
Despite his criticism of current American policy, Albares said he still viewed the transatlantic relationship as essential.
“We really believe in transatlantic relations,” he said.
“For me, the United States is the historical natural ally of Europeans. We need both Europeans and Americans on board.”
He added that Europe would have to adapt to the changing approach of the Trump administration towards NATO and foreign affairs.
“And we have to accept that the Trump administration has a new vision and new ideas about transatlantic relations.”
The Spanish government has taken a strongly critical position on the recent American-led military intervention involving Iran, describing it as “absurd, cruel and illegal.”
Albares has previously called for deeper military integration within the European Union.
In an interview with Spanish outlet Euro EFE published in January, the Socialist Party minister said Europe must integrate its defence industry and “move towards a European army” in order to avoid dependence on “third parties” for security guarantees.
At the time, he pointed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and broader instability involving the United States as evidence that Europe needed to become more strategically independent.
The debate around a centralised European military force has intensified in recent months.
Earlier this year, European Union Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius voiced support for a unified European military force consisting of 100,000 troops.
“Would the United States be militarily stronger if they would have 50 armies on the States level instead of a single federal army?” Kubilius said at a Swedish security conference in January.
“If our answer is ‘no,’ USA would not be stronger then, what are we waiting for?”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said earlier this year that the bloc was seeking to become a “military powerhouse.” Von Der Leyen has previously called for the formation of a European army when she was Germany’s Defence Minister.
The issue has proven politically contentious in Ireland in recent years.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin previously told the Dáil that the idea of a European army was a “fictional notion…which no country in Europe wants or is considering.”
However, several senior European figures have openly endorsed the concept over the past decade, including French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The European Union is also continuing work on its rapid reaction force project, which includes land, naval, and air components intended for deployment outside the bloc’s borders.