Britain and the European Army
As discussion grows about defence post Cold War, Martin Dedman and Clive Fleay look at an abortive 1950s plan for a 'European Army'.
One unexpected consequence of the collapse of the Soviet empire has been the resurrection in Western Europe of a forty-year-old plan to establish a European Army. The Franco-German proposal of October 1991 was to create a European Corps as the embryo for a future multi-national European Army. Paradoxically, while the idea was originally devised in 1950 to counter Soviet Communism's expansion, it has been revived in the wake of Communism's disintegration.
In 1991 President Mitterand envisaged European defence becoming the direct responsibility of the European Community by turning the Western European Union (whose nine members are also in the EC) into Europe's defence pillar and bringing it under direct control of the European Council, the summit meetings of EC heads of state. However, the raison d'etre was the same in both 1951 and 1991: to enhance European regional security and safely contain German power within a closely integrated Europe.
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