“The European Union still does not have enough union”, Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
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Latvia has been a vocal opponent of the European Union army proposals.
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.
“Much more solidarity is needed, but. that.must come from the heart”, Juncker said.
‘Indeed (Mr Juncker’s speech) was the usual recipe – more Europe, in this particular case, more military Europe’.
He stressed however that this should be “complementary with NATO” in reference to concerns that the European Union will be treading on the toes of the US-led military alliance.
“We don’t have a permanent structure and without that, we are not able to work efficiently and so we must have a European HQ and”.
But his speech was greeted with disdain by populist leaders in the European Parliament. Juncker and numerous European Union nations feel the current and pressing need for raised defense co-operation – something the United Kingdom had always been opposed to out of concerns it would create conflict with the already existing North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance, which is headquartered in Belgium. A great numerous European Union countries are current members of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, whose headquarters, the Supreme Allied Powers Europe, is now located in near Brussels in Belgium.
Juncker proposed to double the duration and financial capacity of a 315 billion-euro ($354 billion) infrastructure investment fund that he established after taking office in 2014.
With Europe wracked by fears over extremism, the refugee emergency and economic woes, Juncker told legislators that European Union integration can not be for individual member states to manage alone and insisted that “too often national interests are brought to the fore”.
He added that the new “EU-wide defence capabilities” could include “drones or ships, space capabilities an cyber defence technologies”.
“We need a strong Europe to bear its share of the burden, working with us on behalf of our collective security”, Obama said in April in Hanover, Germany.
The EU was not “at risk” from Brexit, he insisted.
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Günther Oettinger, the EU’s commissioner for the digital economy and society, said: “Europe has the ambition to lead on the deployment of 5G”.
