Russian Roulette – Will an EU Army be the answer to the Crimea Conflicts?

Every morning when I wake the first thing I do without fail is pick up my phone and get my morning fix of the news provided to me no questions asked by The Daily Mail. Embarrassingly my addiction doesn’t stop there, throughout the day I can be found copping a quick look to ensure I’m up to date with current affairs and joining in the debates through the comment box.

However recently my daily routine hasn’t been as satisfying as it once was – For the past few months my attention has been drawn to the amount of negativity and conflict the world has to offer. Call it naivety perhaps but it is a fact that the ratio of positive to negative features has shifted. A day does not pass without the headlines focusing on violent actions such as mass execution at the hands of radical extremists or fixating on how youngsters have been taken advantage of by people in positions of power. It makes you wonder the reasoning for this? Is it because there is more evil in the world today? Or simply because us humans are drawn in by the suffering of others and the papers feed of this.

Take today for instance, a story that stuck in my mind perhaps because it was a piece that could affect myself and any other British and EU citizens in the near future. Speaking to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, The European Commission President has called for the creation of an EU army as a response to the rising tensions with Russia. Jean Claude Juncker proceeded, “You would not create a European army to use it immediately, but a common army among the Europeans would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union.”

The proposal has been welcomed in many countries including Germany who’s Defence Minister responded with her own personal statement noting that ‘our future as Europeans will one day be a European army’ and ‘would strengthen Europe security.’ However, the president has encountered some opposition including Ukip’s defence spokesman Mike Hookem who said ‘We have all seen the utter mess the EU has made of the eurozone economy, so how can we even think of trusting them with this island’s defence?

 So what does this mean for the EU and more subjectively Britain? By using Conrad & Scotts dispute resolution system (2005) the use of power can be used in order to pressure Russia to back down with the use of force.

However, the real question here is how do we gather this EU army? Do we impose to bring back national service for every adolescent male living in Europe? Personally I agree with Mike Hookem – from past examples such as the Eurozone economy the EU cannot cope under pressure, so how do they plan to control an army against the most powerful and lethal country in the world?

Those are my personal opinions on the matter; I would love to here yours through the poll below and of course comments!

Natalie