In his annual speech to the European Parliament, Mr Juncker said: “We must have a European headquarters and so we should work towards a common military force”.
Advertisement
“Above all, Europe means peace – it is no coincidence that the longest period of peace began with the formation of the European community”, he said.
Any substantive negotiations regarding how the United Kingdom should leave the European Union are not likely to take place at least for another year, said the former president of the European Council.
The European Commission has named a senior German trade negotiator to join France’s former EU finance commissioner, Michel Barnier, at the head of the team negotiating Britain’s departure from the European Union. Although it appears that the $14.5 billion tax bill the European Union believes Apple Inc.
Junker said it’s the position of the European Union to oversee a “fair playing field” for all member states. EU officials say the goal is not a separate “EU Army” – but a better blending of member capabilities.
Or, in the European Commission’s own words: “all European households, rural or urban, should have access to connectivity offering a download speed of at least 100 Mbps, which can be upgraded to gigabits per second”.
“There are splits out there and often fragmentation where we need further union that is leaving space for galloping populism”, he said.
Friendly: Nigel Farage, ex-leader of Ukip and MEP, shakes hands with Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European commission, at the speech.
The Commission has proposed a new European Electronic Communications Code with rules created to make it more attractive for all companies to invest in new infrastructure everywhere in the EU, both locally and across national borders.
He said he wanted ties to “remain on a friendly basis” but warned London could not expect access to the EU’s single market if it brings back immigration controls.
Advertisement
Alexander Mattelaer, assistant director of the Institute for European Studies, told Global Government Forum that there is appetite for redrawing the boundaries in European defence cooperation among many member states.
