The Italian foreign minister called for the formation of a European army

According to Fars News Agency, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa that was published this Sunday, that the European Union should form its own combined army that can To play a role in maintaining peace and preventing conflict.

Tajani, while stating that closer European cooperation in the field of defense is a priority for Forza Italia, which he leads, claimed, “If we want to be peacekeepers in the world We need a European army and this is the basic prerequisite for having an effective European foreign policy.

According to him, “in a world with powerful actors like the United States, China, India, Russia–with crises from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific region– “Italian, French or Slovenian citizens can only be protected by what already exists, the European Union.”

According to Reuters, European defense cooperation has increased since Russia’s attack on Ukraine almost two years ago, but efforts have focused more on NATO expansion; Finland, a member of the European Union, joined NATO last year, and Sweden is also in line to join.

Tajani also said that the bloc of 27 members of the European Union should make its leadership effective and have a single presidency instead of the current structure of the head of the European Council and the European Commission.

Tajani became the leader of Italy’s Forza party after the death of Silvio Berlusconi last year. The European Parliament elections in June will be the first test of the party’s popularity after the loss of Berlusconi.

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