In a previous article, we suggested that while NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is likely to remain a backbone global security for the coming decades, its best days are of the past. With a decisive victory for the newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron, the EU is likely to push for more integration and the building of a pan-European army, once the German Chancellor Angela Merkel gets re-elected in the September election. A pan-European army will undermine the importance of NATO.

Here is yet another proof that things are heading in that direction. Germany’s parliamentary defense commissioner, Hans-Peter Bartels, has renewed calls for a joint EU army amid concerns about the reliability of the NATO alliance and disorganization and fragmentation of national defense structures. Speaking to the German Press Agency on Monday, he said, “We are currently disorganized, technically fragmented and duplicate structures unnecessarily…….We do not want to go down the solitary national path anymore. Not in Germany, not in the Netherlands, not in the Czech Republic and not in Italy……In the end, there will be a European army”.

Since 2013, Germany has been overseeing efforts towards a closer EU defense integration through which it plans to share troops and capabilities with other European countries. In March, the European Union also announced the opening of a joint military headquarter. However, the center employs a mere 30 staff and its remit only extends to training missions in Mali, Somalia and the Central African Republic. Nevertheless, it can be considered an as an initial founding stone.

Similar comments came from the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker earlier this year. European leaders have stepped up their efforts in the direction as the US President Donald Trump demanded that European members contribute their fair share to NATO alliance.