He said the U.K.’s departure should increase the necessity for greater European cooperation in defense.
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Meanwhile, EP President Martin Schulz, before giving the floor to Juncker, described the State of the Union speech as “very important”.
“I promised you I would fight tax evasion and many of you did not believe me. but this Commission is fighting tax evasion”.
The speech was dominated by Britain’s shock June vote to quit the European Union depriving it of a major, nuclear-armed North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military power but one which had also been hostile to any suggestion the bloc should have its own army. A European army, a common defence and already in this house people are saying: “Well the Americans won’t be here any more we will have to stand alone with our own military structure”.
In his annual speech to the European Parliament, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said no single EU government had a military big enough to deal with security challenges on Europe’s doorstep, from Islamic militants to a more hostile Russian Federation. “There are splits out there and often fragmentation where we need further union, that is leaving space for galloping populism”.
The head of the European Union executive urged Britain to trigger its formal divorce as quickly as possible for the benefit of both sides.
“We Europeans can never accept Polish workers being harassed, beaten up or even murdered on the streets of Harlow”, Juncker said.
“Everyone benefiting from connectivity means that it should not matter where you live or how much you earn”, Juncker said.
Not an easy task for the European Commission president – just three months after the United Kingdom voted to become the first member to leave the bloc. “That is why we will propose before the end of the year a European Defense Fund to turbo boost research and innovation”. The Action Plan might also include investing in “automated driving, goods delivered by drones, or virtual reality for specific professional collaboration”, according to a news release.
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This would strengthen the European defence industry and help it to innovate, he said.
