- WIADOMOŚCI
100,000 EU troops? Defence Commissioner revives “European Army” debate as U.S. pullback fears grow
Can Europe field 100,000 troops if Washington scales back? EU Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius says Europeans should be able to replace a U.S. presence in Europe, which he puts at about 100,000 troops. That would take the EU far beyond its current model of forces generated on a case-by-case basis for specific missions.
Speaking at the Folk och Försvar conference in Sälen, Sweden, Kubilius urged member states to explore a standing European force of roughly 100,000 personnel, linking the idea to the risk of a reduced U.S. footprint and renewed burden-sharing disputes under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kubilius paired this headline figure with a call for institutional reform: faster, more streamlined decision-making, including a „European Security Council” format that could integrate the United Kingdom. Resistance was immediate. Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson pushed back, rejecting the concept of an EU army and pointing to NATO as the core framework for collective defence.
See also
While EU defence cooperation exists, it operates on a vastly different scale. The EU battlegroups have been on standby since 2007, yet have never been deployed, despite multiple crises. Their use requires unanimity, and costs fall largely on contributing states. Under the Strategic Compass, the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity became operational in 2025, but it is designed for crisis missions abroad capped at just 5,000 troops.
Scaling up to a 100,000-strong force would present formidable challenges. It would require centralized financing, a permanent command structure, and critical enablers currently in short supply (including strategic lift, intelligence, air defence, logistics, and ammunition), along with clear protocols on how such a force would integrate with NATO planning.
Author: Jakub Bielamowicz
