Why a European army is unlikely to work

“I believe the time has come to bring Europe’s mutual defense clause to life,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared at the 2026 Munich Security Conference. Her words captured the mood in European capitals. As Washington continues its strategic pivot toward the Indo-Pacific and signals that Europe must take primary responsibility for its own defense, calls for a European army have returned with renewed urgency.

The anxiety is understandable. Europe has the population, economic weight, and industrial base to defend itself. Yet the obstacle to a European army is not resources — it is political structure and democratic reality.