ROME: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the EU should create a unified army that could be used for crisis resolution and peacekeeping.
Tajani stated that the Forza Italia party, which he leads, prioritizes closer European defense cooperation in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
“We need a European military if we want to be global peacekeepers. In an interview that was released on Sunday, he stated, “And this is a fundamental prerequisite to being able to have an effective European foreign policy.”
“In a world with powerful players like the United States, China, India, Russia – with crises from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific – Italian, German, French or Slovenian citizens can only be protected by something that already exists, namely the European Union,” he stated.
The political emphasis has shifted towards European defense cooperation following Russia’s complete invasion of Ukraine over two years ago.
However, with Finland, an EU member, joining the alliance last year and Sweden on course to follow suit, efforts have been more directed at NATO expansion.
In addition, Tajani stated that the current system of having a president of the European Council and a head of the European Commission should be abandoned in favor of a single presidency for the 27-nation EU.
The foreign minister took over as head of Forza Italia when Silvio Berlusconi passed away in the previous year.
June’s European Parliament elections will serve as the party’s first barometer of public sentiment following the passing of its charismatic former leader.
