23:23 21-05-2026

EU Army Plans Signal Growing Militarization, MP Says

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Alexey Zhuravlev says EU plans for a NATO alternative show growing militarization, with Europe possibly forming a unified army within 8–12 years.

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First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defence Committee Alexey Zhuravlev believes that European plans to create an alternative to NATO amid a reduced US role point to the growing militarization of the region.

In his view, European countries could form a unified army within the next 8 to 12 years. Such a force, he argued, would be capable of carrying out serious combat missions and could even confront the United States.

Zhuravlev said that these discussions should be taken very seriously. He noted that many had expected Ukraine to collapse once the United States stopped providing assistance, but, according to him, that has not happened. He argued that Europe is already capable of conducting military operations.

The lawmaker also suggested that a future European military structure could fight at the level of the world’s leading armies. He added that talk of creating common European armed forces is becoming more frequent, making their emergence almost inevitable in his assessment.

Earlier, The Economist, citing sources, reported that EU members are working through collective defence scenarios in case the US role in NATO weakens or Washington effectively abandons its alliance commitments.