Europe

Why Not All Countries Are For The New EU Military Headquarters

Officials have said it won't be a "European army," but others argue it sounds a lot like NATO.

Why Not All Countries Are For The New EU Military Headquarters
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European Union leaders agreed Monday to set up a military training headquarters in Brussels. But not all member states think this is a good idea. 

Even though officials have said this won't be a "European army," some have argued this force sounds an awful lot like NATO, which includes 22 of the 28 EU nations.  

Britain's been one of the strongest critics of this move, arguing a military headquarters risks undermining NATO. But the U.K.'s sway within the EU has dropped since the "Brexit" vote.

Supporters of the headquarters note while NATO includes most of the EU nations, six countries are left out. And several non-EU nations that are part of NATO may be less tied to European security.

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One of those is the U.S. President Donald Trump has alluded to focusing less on NATO if European countries don't boost their defense spending. 

But France and Germany have argued the continent needs to be able to fend for itself.

To help prevent it from sounding like a new NATO, the headquarters will be run by a "director" instead of a "commander." 

Also, the scope of the headquarters will start out small, taking over three existing EU training missions in Africa.  

But The New York Times quotes the Belgian foreign minister, saying, "[As for] a European army, maybe later."