Post by Steve Gardner on Jun 6, 2008 11:04:48 GMT
Do we really need an EU army?
And, in these difficult economic times, should we be increasing our defence spending to 6% of GDP?
Here in the UK, we spent around £32 billion in 2006 - around 2.5% of GDP. A jump to 6% represents a very considerable increase, which means either budget cuts or a need to raise more revenue.
Source and full article: BBC
And, in these difficult economic times, should we be increasing our defence spending to 6% of GDP?
Here in the UK, we spent around £32 billion in 2006 - around 2.5% of GDP. A jump to 6% represents a very considerable increase, which means either budget cuts or a need to raise more revenue.
Source and full article: BBC
An influential Polish member of the European parliament has called for the EU to develop "hard power" and spend more money to build a European army.
Foreign affairs committee chairman Jacek Saryusz-Wolski also wants the European parliament to have the final say on deployments under the EU flag.
The French have said beefing up the EU's military capability will be a key part of their six-month presidency.
The BBC has been told their plans also include a new EU military headquarters.
Other items on the French list of proposals involve calling upon all EU countries to increase spending on defence to meet a new target of perhaps 6% of Gross Domestic Product.
