Hutton not against pan-European armed forces
Defence secretary John Hutton has said he is not against the idea of a European army when it would be beneficial to the UK’s security.
In an interview with the Times, the newly appointed head of defence said he was not someone who distrusted any project involving the European Union (EU) and would be in favour of a European defence force if it was pragmatic.
He told the paper: “I’m not one of those EU haters [who think] anything to do with the EU must by definition be terrible. There’s plenty of them around. I think frankly those kind of views are pathetic.
“Britain’s role in the world is to be part of those alliances – that’s the best way to project power, strength and conviction around the world. People who don’t understand that don’t understand the nature of the modern world.”
He added that France was in favour of such a project and that Britain should back the plan if the requirements for joining it were feasible.
Britain is already part of the 26-member, US supported organisation Nato under which an attack on one member nation will be responded to by all nations.
Responding to Mr Hutton’s comments, shadow defence secretary Liam Fox told the paper that steps in favour of a European army must not harm relations with Nato.
“What we must not have at a time of scarce resources is duplication of existing structures and diversion of capabilities away from Nato’s use.”
Speaking about Nato operations in Afghanistan, Mr Hutton said British troops would be involved in the country for the “long haul”.
He told the Times that it could take years to defeat the Taliban and decades before all the UK’s objectives for Afghanistan could be met.
