madam president these are own-initiative reports and therefore they might be dismissed as so much hot air
but we know that such reports are sometimes used as a means of introducing the policy aspirations of the eu
mr von wogau was once the chair of the committee on economic and monetary affairs and was instrumental in bringing about the european single currency
he is now chair of the subcommittee on security and defence and when he writes a report saying that the european union needed its own armed forces then we can be confident that that is precisely what the european union intends to bring about in due course
these reports call for the eu to develop its own armed forces by means of common weapons procurement a common communication system and an autonomous common command and control structure
mr von wogau advocates an eu standing army of sixty zero soldiers permanently available for deployment
the eu wants its own soldiers guns tanks aeroplanes and bombs in order to fulfil its responsibilities in the world
what are those responsibilities exactly
to find out you will have to wait to see if the lisbon treaty is fully ratified and brings about a common foreign and security policy leading to a common defence
no one can say that they were not warned of the eu's military aspirations
