An EU Army can challenge China and Russia - Here is why

Will an EU military superpower rival the US, China and Russia? And how would an EU army work? How strong would it be? Could it rival the other great powers? This video will address these questions by evaluating military spend and military numbers. It will also briefly look at a Federal Europe, a pre-requisite of a European army. With Putin, Xi Jinping and Biden (or a future Trump) holding most the military power, this video will look if a EU army can compete.
Correction: (thanks to Riccardo Gemme in the comments):
The new Italian Aircraft Carrier is going to take the place of one of the 2 already in service.
The Garibaldi - Will be decommisioned (there are rumours that it may be used as a drone ship)
Trieste - The new carrier that will take Garibaldi's place
Cavour - The current flagship of the italian navy
Timestamps:
1:11 How would an EU army work
2:37 Military Spending Compared
4:50 Military Spending Compared (incl. PPP)
6:06 Military Numbers Compared
8:00 Global Super Power or Not?
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Research & Sources
Source 1: SIPRI World Military Expenditure
www.sipri.org/media/press-rel....
Source 2: SIPRI, Military Expenditure Database
milex.sipri.org/sipri
Source 3: Financial Management and Controller, Air Force Budget
www.saffm.hq.af.mil/FM-Resour....
Source 4: The Week, The Arguments for and Against and EU army
www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-...
Source 5: Breaking Defense, Seven European Nations have increased defense Budgets
breakingdefense.com/2022/03/s...
Source 6: VOX EU, Debating Defense Budgets
voxeu.org/article/why-militar...
Source 7: Globalfirepower, Global Fire Power 2022
www.globalfirepower.com/count...
Source 8: Arms Control Association, Nuclear Weapons
www.armscontrol.org/factsheet...
Source 9: FP, Is an EU Army Coming
foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/20/...
Source 10: NAVAL News, New Lhd Trieste
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/...
Source 11: World Bank, Population, Total
data.worldbank.org/indicator/...
Source 12: Europäische Sicherheit und Technik, The Fairy Tale of the 17 European Battle Tanks
esut.de/en/2019/12/meldungen/...
Source 13: Europe1, Macron pour une "vraie armée européenne" : un projet réalisable ?
www.europe1.fr/politique/macr...
Source 14: The Local, Merkel calls for a ‘real, true’ European army
www.thelocal.de/20181113/merk...

[@just1it1moko]

Dutch here living in Belgium and I've long been a advocate for a federated Europe. in my opinion its the only way we can be relevant on the world stage.

[@EUMadeSimple]

I think it is an intersting idea too. What policy areas do you think need to happen on a federal level? Defense & Foreign Policy jump to mind... But what about Fiscal Policy? Or go even further and look at Healthcare and Education? Would love to hear your take :)

[@glenwillson5073]

The EU is going to be "relevant" alright but not in a good way.

[@Kay-jq2of]

I think things like healthcare and fiscal policy would need to be managed by every state (somebody living in Germany shouldn't pay someone's healthcare in Hungary and vice versa). Basically, almost everything should be managed by states, the only things that should be federated are a EU wide corporation tax, security/defense (excluding local police, but a more integrated Europol would be very beneficial), and foreign policy. Can't think of anything else.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Immigration might also be useful on a federal level. But also hard to implement. What do you think about EU wide minimum wage for certain professions? I read an interesting article that said minimum wage for certain professions (e.g. nurses) would mean that 'poorer' EU countries would be able to keep their nurses in their own hospitals. Resulting in less of a shortage of those professions in those countries. I can see a whole lot of problems with this. But an interesting thought nonetheless

[@Kay-jq2of]

@@EUMadeSimple I don't think a EU-wide minimum wage for certain professions would be beneficial. Due to the cost of living in some countries, there is just too much disparity to have a universal minimum wage. Besides, nurses should be paid more than minimum wage (in Germany at least). Immigration makes sense as well, we finally need to distribute immigrants proportionally, this way we can counter the shortage of professional workers. Young people are fleeing countries like Hungary, so they need to take in some immigrants to replace the people that emigrated.

[@antonhauffe518]

I think it’s always important to consider the modernisation of the military equipment. For example, Russia has a vast amount of tanks but most of them are still from the soviets

[@TheDanno34]

Russia doesn’t have so many tanks anymore

[@KennyNGA]

@@TheDanno34 Well still more than Most nations have

[@KennyNGA]

But i guess soon behind india

[@guillaumegermain4951]

Currently they are getting either toast or given to a neighbor country they invaded recently 😂

[@TheDanno34]

@@KennyNGA If Russia are sending T-62 to Ukraine they have definitely run out of decent tanks. If the reported number of Russian tanks destroyed is anywhere near correct then Greenland has more tanks than Russia

[@taseljoff]

Loved the video! Instant-follow for you. Keep up with the great work!

[@EUMadeSimple]

Thank you ! Great to have you onboard

[@michaelpilos]

Actually! This analysis is brilliant 👍🏼

[@FckPooTN]

EU has some advantages since each country could specialize in one task. I heard a podcast in the radio about this. Like France and Germany could provide the backbone army and smaller countries focus on special things like naval, aircrafts, military inteligence, logistics etc. This is way more economic than each country has his own army and need to be good in everything. Moreover, this would unite the EU even more and make war within the EU impossible, because the individual states would no longer have their own army.

[@Korfax124]

A single union army would also be a problem in itself as the sovereigntists (people who don't want a federal Europe) can feed paranoia of German and French dominance over EU member states to the public... Member states should also have individual Home Guards for two reasons. 1); it will give sovereigntists some sense of security that they can resist a (perceived) threat from a union army and 2); it would give member states a practical defensive force in case of an invasion against said member state.

[@FckPooTN]

@@Korfax124 if EU will be something like USA i dont see the problem actually.

[@dannyskanaal1957]

The strength of the EU lie’s in it’s diversity, there are country’s that are closed in by land and there are country’s with an easy to defend seaport while other country’s do have a secure border and benefit more by airpower. That is usually also the basis of their native industry and a country can benefit from that. To kickstart a things, we have a lot of high tech company’s all over Europe. We should use this to our benefit and develop a drone that is superior to all other drone’s out there and should only be available to European members. There’s a win win in this. We have seen how important a well designed drone can be in Ukrain and we can give other memberstate’s the confidence to invest more money in European cooperation.

[@johnjeanb]

@@FckPooTN "if EU will be something like USA i dont see the problem actually." It took 200 years and one civil war for the US to be a strong federal state.

[@FckPooTN]

@@johnjeanb I don't think that EU will ever get in war with an EU state again. But yeah... could need 200 years to get a country like US. But I think 50-100 is more realistic.

[@avinashmishra6783]

If EU has a united army, it will be the best force in the world. Consider this, China buys submarine technology from Germany. The AIP system was Swedish. Battery AIP system has been mastered only by Germany, prototype battery AIP with Spain and France. In terms of aircrafts, best beyond visual range AAM, best EW suite, GAN ASEA radars, only lacking in stealth but that too will be dealt in future with 2 sixth generation programs. Overall, I believe the giant has been sleeping for long.

[@havocrein]

The only submarine tech China have from Germany are the diesel engines which are licensed, but they have it's own substitutes nowdays, the sterling AIP China uses comes from a rudimentary co-study program, what it uses on thier subs are thier own developed systems, not Swedish. Best AESA and sensor systems exist in USA, although too expensive, cost in EU aren't exactly cheap either. In the end, most systems developed in EU are a open book for Americans, it's NOT gonna have a edge on USA no matter what.

[@shaaravguha3760]

Lmao these creature metaphors for countries are funny China: Rising dragon USA: Soaring eagle EU: Sleeping Giant

[@jaziadenbairs509]

@@shaaravguha3760 Drunken Bear, if you know what I mean

[@ponglenis9273]

@@jaziadenbairs509 hehe, the bald drunken bear

[@ponglenis9273]

A german submarine managed to embarrass the american forces during a played military battle scenario, by essentially hitting it without the americans having zero clue the submarine was there.

[@manueldam7178]

WELL DONE 🙂

[@MultiSciGeek]

Actually really good comparison. Got the exact answer I was looking for.

[@BioD86]

Having served in the German air force and army I've always been a strong proponent of a European army , although the same hasn't been true for much, maybe most of my army comrades (less so in the air force). With the redefinition of the European security structure and the rise of China as a global super power, I think a European army is unavoidable at some point, but it's a process with many adversaries from the political and military-industrial complex. On a positive note there are areas where European, respectively NATO coordination is already very much advanced, i.e. air-air and ground-air defense and where pooling resources is absolutely essential simply because of the costs and complexity. Here the political will, rather than technical hurdles stand in the way of further integration. The EU battlegroups where a good idea, but poorly executed. I always favoured the idea of an elite, self-reliant, multinational expeditionary force at the centre of European defense, akin to the US marine corps.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Hi Bio, thanks for your comment. Out of interest, how come your army comrades are opponents? Very interested in what the people serving in the Bundeswehr thinks about all this.

[@danwelterweight4137]

You Germans really don't learn, do you. You need to read and learn from your own history. When Germany invaded the USSR in WWII it went to war with a huge coalition of various European countries by its side. How did that work for you guys? From Finland, Hungary, Romania, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Slokakias, Croatia and so on. They all joined you. When you were winning all of them were riding in your waves of victory. As soon as things turned south for you guys in Stalingrad, all those countries dropped all their weapons and equipment turned around cut and run away back home leaving while you were holding the red army by its teeth. 126 years before that Napoleon did the exactly same thing. He Went to war with Russia with a huge coalition and look at what happened to his coalition. Both times ended with the Russians ending up at your capitals in Berlin and Paris. Coalitions are great on paper, but in practice they are a huge liability when the s h I t hits the fan. Do you really think soldiers from other EU armies are going to stand their ground and protect your flanks in the heat of war against a massive Russian combined arms attack? Ask your great grandparents how did that go last time. You cannot win with a coalition of highly fractured countries with various different political leaders who speak different languages and come from different countries against a unified enemy who shares a uniform identity, national identity, command structure and political and military leadership. That is suicide.

[@gordonfleming458]

Living room in the east another 4th reich the nazi are back

[@havocrein]

Sorry to break it for you, NATO=USA, it's NOT European, period.

[@iche9373]

@@EUMadeSimple Because military members of the Bundeswehr generally have the tendency to be nationalcentric and conservative, instead of being supranational and progressive. And that’s a sad fact.

[@SeArCh4DrEaMz]

Im belgian and i fully support the idea of a european army, granted it wont be easy to implement and it will take time, but it is absolutely necessary in the defense of our collective interests and security. Moreover as europeans, we cant always rely on the americans, and as nice as they are, they do not always have our best interests at heart (war in iraq/afghanistan+migrant crisis as a result) and it is time for us europeans to be a little more assertive..

[@minoarno7415]

As a Belgian, I second this sentiment

[@davidescristofaros2241]

i agree. i consider myself first and foremost an european, and THEN an italian. and european nationalist let's say. The us has ended it's role as beacon of freedom and democracy and we need to take that role now. Europe must unite and reiterate the values of the Enlightenment around the world. we can't let autocracies win, and we need a politically and militarily united europe to do so.

[@MDP1702]

@@saccount-z3 A beacon of democracy doesn't necessarily mean militarily defending or expanding that democracy. Just being an example and being a diplomatically powerfull democratic nation is usefull. I'd say at best you'd make defensive alliances with other democratic nations and help secure international tradelines (for example against piracy or some kind of conflict).

[@davidescristofaros2241]

@@MDP1702 that's exactly what i meant. a united and powerful europe would finally have some diplomatic importance, which we don't have right now because we rely on the US since we don't have any common defense, and we would be an example of a rich, powerful and free state for peoples from underdeveloped countries, who, i think, would prefer to live like americans or europeans and not like the chinese, who are still for the most part poor. we need to be strong and trustworthy, unlike the US that is seen as a terrorist state, and replace China in what it's doing in africa for example.

[@sinoroman]

the EU won't ever be as centralized as the US, so there will be permanent cracks in certain EU departments

[@analogGigabyte]

Greece is forced to maintain an expensive army to keep the defender's standard 1/3 ratio against the larger Turkish army that has beem bullying and threatening to invade Greece for decades. Some EU countries haven't been opposing that, since they have been profiting by providing weapons and defensive solutions to the Greeks

[@thedutchfoxxx]

You make it sound like the EU is racketeering Greece into buying weapons, failing to mention that these massive deals often include mutually beneficial compromises like the licensing and manufacturing of said weapons in the purchasing country (strengthening Greece's manufacturing power and employment rates), bilateral security deals, and sometimes even include debt relief from the exporting nation to sweeten the deal.

[@leobelleobel2007]

Greece is not keeping an exensive army against Turkish invasion treat in contrast Greece wants to expand its territories and sea zone.

[@AngelSnoWGR]

​@@leobelleobel2007 Greece has the right according to international law of the sea to expand its sea zone to 12 nautical miles. What are the territorial that you are talking about????? Greece spends so much money because of the constant treat of the international semi-dictatorship bullie called turkey .

[@leobelleobel2007]

@@AngelSnoWGR This so called international law sorted out after lausanne treaty. After Italy’s artifical island. More over economical zone of mainland is always surpasses islands economical zone. Even now Greece has islands closer than 6 miles. From that context some Grek islands should beling to Turkiye such as Meis.

[@leobelleobel2007]

@@AngelSnoWGR This is your politicians story to you to win elections. To be honest Turkey does not have any claims in Grek islands. Do not forget Turkey assembled Agean army after your expansion policies to defend our own rights. Based on our lausanne treaty both countries should have 3 miles of economical zone only. Greece expanded to 6 miles first then Turkiye expanded to 6 miles after Greece. 12 mile is a cassus belli for Turkiye. So there is no defense issue for Greece.

[@roseforeuropa]

Wow, excellent and very SIMPLE presentation! I had never considered PPP although it seems obvious now. One correction I keep seeing you do in your other videos. You often mention "Military spend" however, grammatically you should use the infinite form "military spending" Also, would you be able to do a deep dive video on Schultz's proposed EU Air defense system? How would it be different from the current air defense network? I can see this being the very beginning of an EU style air force, or at least something much greater than an integrated air defense system.

[@EUMadeSimple]

True :) thanks. Good idea. Not sure when I have the time though, as I have a big backlog of videos I want to make :)

[@roseforeuropa]

@@EUMadeSimple Glad to hear you already have a big backlog! Looking forward to more content! This is a very promising start!

[@Emanon...]

Just want to say you've been crushing it lately with your short but highly informative videos. That is all.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Thank you :) Appreciate the feedback

[@matti8633]

One thing that is always left out in videos like this is the effect of corruption on military spending. A million may buy more in china but if every time any money is moved some of it gets stolen then you get a lot less, and worse that deficit is hidden so you do not actually know how much of the money is actually spent as intended. We have a clear example now in Russia. Funds intended for materiel upkeep got stolen, funds intended for training troops got stolen and funds intended for upgrade programs got stolen. So if in 2021 they spent $65.9 billion on their army how much was actually spent on their army? We do not really know and worse for Russians they do not know. It is a huge liability to have military a system that lies to itself. And there is no way to fix it unless the whole society goes through massive anti-corruption reforms.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Great point. And very relevant. Will look into it :)

[@matti8633]

@@EUMadeSimple Thanks. I was just thinking that in a society with high levels of corruption military is likely to be even more corrupt because by nature a lot of the funds are spent on things that are hard or impossible to verify without robust accounting systems that require level of lawfulness that just do not exist in corrupt societies. Afterwards it is hard to say how much ordnance was used in training or how much training was actually conducted?. Are the new truck tires up to spec? who knows.

[@peterfireflylund]

@@matti8633 you should expect China’s PLA to be even worse than Russia’s military… they are far more interested in “internal power projection” than in having a capable defense or a military that can successfully invade Taiwan.

[@user-si5ik5xf3m]

In Kazakhstan we see that even a little bit of corruption is devastating. Not that the money stolen is a big deal, it's the irresponsibility, procrastination and ... issue.

[@jonlister1981]

Been planning this for a long time

[@pauladams5673]

Thank you, this is very interesting..

[@perseusarkouda]

EU army is unavoidable. We appreciate democracy but we won't be able to defend it.

[@gordonfleming458]

Democracy in Europe ??? Stop being stupid

[@alwynwatson6119]

But the new world order is already defending it. Just look at what it did to russia in ukraine.

[@MDP1702]

I don't really think the language is that much of a problem, there is one clear option: english. Not only does this not favor any (large) EU member, but it is also the most used language world wide, the most used among EU allies and is used internationally in many different fields too. In the end every soldier that can't speak english yet would just take a course for it. By extension I also think english should become the 'official' EU language and be thaught in every member. Not to replace other languages, but to be used in official EU circumstances (politics, EU announcements and military for example) and so that citizens of different memberstates always have a common language to communicate with/fall back to, while ofcourse using their own native language when possible. I also don't really think the budget would be that problematic. Essentially you'd state that all members spend at least 2% of their GDP in a common military fund, with the option to put more into it with the option to spend equally less than 2% in another year within the next 10-15 years (so a nation spending 3% one year could spend 1% a few years later), though the funding needs to be known more or less 2 years in advance and the fund should have always some reserve fund left. Then it is up to the military to manage that fund under the supervision of the EU parliament, which also needs to keep the council up to date when asked about. Ofcourse this oversight can be different depending on the answer of 'who is in charge?' And ofcourse the minimum budget can be increased if most countries are in favor, though probably only done in times of need. The difference in equipment also isn't that difficult, though it isn't something fixed in a few years. For one you'd just slowly phase out the older equipment and replace it with newer common equipment. Secondly, some of this equipment could potentially be sold to other non-EU countries and replaced with common new equipment, this even could be seen as part of a modernisation plan. The main problem with this question isn't the difference in current equipment, rather the defence industry and selecting which equipment to actually use in the future. EU nations are already working on this problem (FCAS, German-French tank, ....), but it won't be an easy thing regardless, no country wants to lose jobs. I personally don't think public or political support is a problem overall, as long as you ensure that this EU army will not jeapordise NATO, something several (eastern) countries are afraid off. It is more the perception of opposition than actual opposition that is holding something more regarding an EU military back, that and the less easy answered questions. Regardless, starting with an 'EU army of the willing' is imo the best option. The 'who is in charge' and 'sovereignty' questions are essentially closely interlinked and aren't easy to fix, especially not with the current still pretty decentralized EU government.

[@EUMadeSimple]

I agree with you Arch. I think the toughest problem to solve is that of power. As you said, we have a very decentralized EU government and changing that will be extremely difficult. Even today many eurosceptic EU citizens are using the Sovereignty argument, even though the most impactful EU legislation requires unanimous support from all member states. Meaning that Vetos can be used. Imagine if the EU were to receive real power, in terms of a Federal State (in some areas)... Because then the sovereignty argument, on national level, will actually carry some weight.

[@Korfax124]

​@@EUMadeSimple A simple thing I'm a proponent of is the EU commision being able to send a suggestion out to a Unionwide vote... So instead of the Parliament and European Council (the member states governments one) having to approve it, you can achive your mandate from the people. It's democratic and you avoid the problem with unanimous votes and sabotaging governments...

[@EUMadeSimple]

@@Korfax124 so like an EU wide referendum?

[@Korfax124]

@@EUMadeSimple Yes.

[@cheveuxjaunes2782]

speak English is already to submit to the Anglo Saxons and therefore to remain a vassal of the United States

[@cholleville]

Good video :)

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

I really enjoyed the video it was very well put together,informative and unbiased. It would be interesting to see how the defence stats of the EU & CANZUK (Canada, Australia, New Zealand,United Kingdom) would compare. I can personally see both a EU and a CANZUK defence alliance forming in future years especially after brexit, AUKUS and the Ukraine

[@EUMadeSimple]

Good idea :) ill consider it

[@ohjonny95]

@@EUMadeSimple UK will be within the EU army, trust me. There is no "UK" in CANZUK. Look at how closely they are working alongside the western allies and especially their european friends. If that EU army ever becomes a thing, they will be included in it. EU does the same with trading. There are a few countries that are within Europe but not in the EU. Long story short, negotiations led to an agreement in which they still are not EU members, but essentially have the same benefits as if they were. That's why when trading they are more or less seen as EU members.

[@peternicho]

After the way the EU has treated the UK after Brexit the UK public would never allow the EU to benefit from the expertise of the UK.@@ohjonny95

[@DBLt4p]

An EU army is nearly impossible for the foreseeable future because of the opposing interests of France and Germany. Germany only seeks a European army to continue to subsidise it’s defence without having to rely on, and take orders from the Americans. They would keep everything close and use their economic dominance to maintain control over the EU. France is an interventionalist power seeking to rebuild neo-colonial control over north and west Africa to make use of its energy and mineral exports, and younger demography. The French won’t tolerate the Germans continuing to call the shots in the EU, and the Germans won’t let the French engage in foreign interventions. All they can agree on is that they don’t want to take orders from the yanks.

[@duncanmckechnie4468]

whats the point of an EU army aren't they members of Nato If I was European I would not mind being on the same side as the USA and UK despite our differences we do care about each other militarily and our principals are along the same wavelenght!

[@thisguy976]

@@duncanmckechnie4468 because screw the UK and the US in many ways. I'm pro-EU army and I am confident in my belief that it will happen in the next 10 years. Not to mention it will massively improve Europe's security and influence on the world stage. If there is a properly integrated EU army then no country (even an incredibly powerful 'ally' like the US or less powerfulbut belligerent countries like Russia or China) would dare to interfere with the EU in military terms.

[@gonzalos4379]

@@duncanmckechnie4468 It's hard for an American to understand, many wars that Natos participated in for the past 20 years were led by American instead of European's will, Nato may looks like a tool to strengthen the western alliance security, but all it does in the end is reinforcing American's presence in different regional issues, and on the cost of European's interests.

[@alwynwatson6119]

You do know that the new world orders diplomacy department will solve that problem.

[@Gridlocked]

@@gonzalos4379 Can you be more specific? What wars are you exactly referring to?

[@glenipolus9731]

Europe needs a united army to guard its foreign intressts

[@sinoroman]

an EU army will further help US strategic interests

[@akteno2796]

@@sinoroman ok and? They are allies to us.

[@BREADCRUMB]

This is actually a very well done video, tackling things in depth such as PPP and not stopping on superficial data which might be misleading. It would have also been interesting to see money spent per capita of a nation instead of percentage of GDP though.

[@e33d90]

Eu federalists think a youtube video can make then an army lol

[@tomtwo222]

Very nice video! I like the Principe of your KZbin Channel. I will keep following

[@EUMadeSimple]

Thank you for your sub :)

[@FFPFilms]

Always suprised that this isn't a big channel... Well done!

[@EUMadeSimple]

Thanks

[@Arcaryon]

Imo. it is because it is an essentially part of the core movement of Europe. Channels like this create a positive bubble where ideas in a community can exchanged without being constantly be interrupted so the discussion can actually flow freely. I strongly suspect that this channel will grow further and further, given enough time. The one thing that could accelerate this process naturally are 27 subtitles (well, you could probably reduce this number given how some languages are nearly identical ).

[@europeanmappin]

every country/state if the EU was a federation should pay for and supply their own armies, although they should only be controlled by brussels (which to my knowledge is the eu capital), and for the navy im pretty sure europe is able to build a ton of submarines, well..

[@DamianSeguaceDiDamia]

In one year a lot changed, it would be great to make this video again 😊

[@GermanGreetings]

Ej: It`s realistic... Thank you, Sir !

[@alexanderschoneberg8610]

As a small point it is kind of pointless to even differentiate between Frigates and Destroyers nowadays . I would just simply group them as Warships. Germany for example simply refuses to classify ships as Destroyers. Meanwhile the German Baden-Würtemberg Class "Frigate" is about the same lenght and weight as british Typ 45 Destroyer and the Sachsen Class "Frigate" surpasses most non American Destroyers in (my opinion) Capabilities.

[@alexandrepezzotti9344]

France solved that problem by redefining ships by their roles and not sizes First rank ships :battle line(large frigate and destroyers) and carrier (plane or helos) Second rank : escort or replenishment ships Third rank: patrol and surveillance ships And then port ships : small craft/training/mine sweepers ... Depending on its mission a frigate can either be first or second rank And corvetes can either be second or third

[@salzach353thomas8]

One important element you didint mention. Arms manufacturing..EU, especially Germany and France but also other EU countries build the most advanced military equipment in the world . Just think of the German tanks or panzers, French Caesar howitzers. So, in a war situation, they dont need to import. Also, I fly alot in Europe and only see airbus planes. So, I can imagine that airbus in a war situation can produce war planes. I do not wish to denigigrate the great Boing planes which dominated the skies for many years..

[@reusablestinger3164]

i know this is a old video, but i´d like to point out military chains of "EU" army are already established acordingly to nato alliance. + as part of the entry to nato most countrys goes on to do a remake of the army to be compatible. several army drills are made with the combination of all the countrys and the universal language is english. those questions that in this video seem like unsolved are solved even before the country enters the aliance

[@michaelcraig58]

there is a NATO school in germany and a NATO defense college in rome that teeach alot of comanding officers in NATO countries how to work together in operational capacities ..the US also has 5 federal service acadamies and 6 senior military colleges and 6 military junour colleges that alot of foriegners can attend ..i think this is what makes NATO work so well...

[@antoniospillos2814]

Very accurate assumptions and we hope they take place sooner than later!

[@apb2081]

Italian here. Fully support the EU army. Italy already makes a lot of army vehicles and weapons via the company called LEONARDO etc. Right here! Right now! It would be the second strongest army in the world. After the USA army of course.

[@harmoniacaotica]

Apparently Portugal has increased it's military budget for 2022 to 2.5%. We (Portugal) should be working on an effective navy, which would in turn be a force for european defense. To what extent should this national force be funded by EU money? Well, that's the catch, right? European nations funding military forces stationed elsewhere? Humm... I'm not against it, just don't see that happening. I would support a mostly defensive force in EU, as long as it wouldn't implicate a move away from NATO. The current war in Ukraine has made ir perfectly clear we rely too much on the US. The moment the US decided to support Ukraine things started moving (a lot) and, once again, Europe was left with this image of a bunch that can't make up their minds colectively and it results in an awful image as "weak european nations" worldwide. In fact, a EU budget for the sole purpose of creating defenses against aerial and cyber attacks, to me would be perfect. Having a project to protect from crazies nukes, seems important at this point (not that I'm paranoid about it, just that it would mean additional security).

[@Arcaryon]

I think the best defensive is still a good offensive. I am not talking about that in the context of our rivalries with say, Russia directly (if you can even call this oversized soon to be Chinese puppet a rival ) but mainly our extended policing in Africa and the Middle East as well as the naval trade routes. The EU funding the Portugese navy benefits all of Europe as the economy is the heart or the project and being able to trade is imperative to a certain extend. Against Russia, we mainly need good nuclear capabilities. Not just more defenses but more offenses to ensure total destruction if the Kreml dares to make any move in order to scare them into not risking their skin against a vastly superior enemy.

[@hernanigil3469]

Portugal has no budget for any kind of army. Should invest in drones, antitank and antiaircraft hand weapons, light vehicules and small and fast drone carriers to protect the sea.

[@herpaderppa3297]

comparing military budget and account for PPP ? Is this real life? Sir, I love you

[@TheeuwesdeJong]

1. EU members do not want to rival anyone. Most of them learned that the hard way. 2. EU members have very bad experiences with concentration of military might. 3. EU treaty (agreed upon through democratic, if evolved, means) already has provisions for security threats and responses to that 4. The EU people are very well capable of pulling together when the need should arise. The industrial and economic might is unparalelled. Opponents main interest is division for a very good reason. All the intigration is because of some mutual interests but mostly because of efficiency. It also reduces the industrial military capablilities, where diverisification is a plus in development, having more and diverse development in time of need can be turned in to might by production means. Plans, designs, machining and tooling can be licensed as it is required.

[@pascalvergine1687]

As a French, I think it is too late to build this EU army. For years, France advocates for a EU army, while it was spending a lot (per capital) compare to major EU countries and digging a bit more its debt. More, EU countries shown their motivations to the EU were only to grow their interests and powers even if it had negative consequences to other EU members. For example, look at how EU members behave when EU had to rescue Greece from a financial collapse… all the jokes about Grexit, the PIGS, the southern EU crickets and the northern EU ants, the northern EU countries and anglo saxon ones blaming for southern EU countries briberies… when actually some northern EU countries were enjoying cheap Euro currency to make business with our future potential competitors/ennemies like China, Russia, …, or even India; and when Mr Schroeder was heading Gazprom (isn t it a kind of bribery?). What to say about fiscal policies of some countries like Netherlands, Luxembourg or Ireland organizing fiscal dumping to attract large companies to pay less taxes… what to say about how behave English, taking advantage of EU free exchange zone for many decades to finally, when tough times are coming, ask for and get Brexit. What to say about Polish nationalism or Czech cooperation with Russia to buy their gaz in roubles…. What to say about EU countries emitting large amount of CO2, banning nuclear power but buying for many decades cheap electricity from nuclear EU countries… Hey guys!!! Wake up! You would like I go to war and die to protect your interests? NEVER!!! And even if I like you! No, in France we so far tried to get centrist politicians in power, but if this EU army will try to born, I bet French citizens will turn nationalists. I personally prefer to be part of a dwarf country and alive ( because France is independent to use its nuclear weapons), than to be part of a giant and dead while be obliged to loose my independence about nuclear weapons. EU countries shown for decades very selfish attitudes to their counter partners.

[@mattiasjonson7187]

I think that advocating for a EU Army during the long peace is always going to be hard but now after imperialistic maniacs has shown what they are capable and willing to do, it's a different question. Now Nato and an EU Army is way more of a necessity then something nice to have which it was before.

[@fury1763]

ich bin für keine EU armee...Polen finge weg von solche geschäft

[@pascalvergine1687]

Even if I agree with you Mattias, I regret we, Europeans, haven t build earlier this army, about 20-30 years ago, to build a balanced military industry, with production capacities, that all EU countries would have a slice of the machines and plants, and to build a cross countries management team to lead military operations whatever if we need to deploy it to protect us against Russia or secure uranium supplies or even prevent us against excessive migration flows. We shouldn’t think to make an EU army when our own country needs it, but when one of the EU countries was needing it. We should have learned to sail when the weather was calm and steady, and not when it is stormy with a risk to become a hurricane.

[@mattiasjonson7187]

​@@pascalvergine1687 I understand your thinking and agree to an extent. Although i must say that Europe has been in a denial phase since WW2 about wars due to the catastrophic losses in WW1 and WW2. Germany along with other countries has been extremely pacifistic since then even though they're part of Nato. Politics has been aimed at how to avoid conflict and wars from starting rather then to prepare for them as the long peace (no major wars between two or more wealthy nations) indicated that War is not economical nor benefitial since it's cheaper to buy from a country then to invade it. It all comes down to a mixed bag of trading politics and pacifistic ideology, atleast that's my opinion of it all. After all, Europe has seen real war in the past and if we can make decisions to avoid similar events in the future that's a pretty good policy to take but we should never allow our core structure of defense to fall as much as it has done (I'm speaking as a Swedish citizen).

[@CriscCiaddu]

I am Italian🇮🇹. I agree with what you say, Pascal👍

[@andreasgreek312]

Great video. Regarding @8:51 and in my humble opinion.. -Language among Europeans was NEVER an issue. -The strongest nations are in charge. UK, France, Germany. -Modern systems solve the mis communication issues of older systems/different equipment. Most systems today are made in a modular way. Not hermetically closed systems. A Dutch submarine can easily connect to a French frigate.

[@andichristensen899]

We need one👍

[@RazorMouth]

The EU already has an army, 27 of them in fact. All that's missing is central command. That's easier to implement than many realize, via the EU Council. It's more of a political agreement that's required. Will it happen, well one thing is for sure, Russia has made it more likely.

[@BioD86]

Technically there is a central command or at least coordination on division level and up through NATO, which not by chance has its seat in Brussels. The challenge still is interoperability due to varying equipment and training. There are however a few positive examples, air defense comes to mind.

[@RazorMouth]

@@BioD86 I think thats what PESCO is about, so we have all the same or similar equipment/hardware going forward.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Yes there are many PESCO projects (i think around 60) that are currently in development with numerous EU countries. The idea is good but again there is issues around financing and apparently some of these projects are on hold. The good thing about these projects is that smaller groups of EU countries can be involved, rather than 27 different countries pulling in different directions.

[@RazorMouth]

@@EUMadeSimple Even Ireland is involved in PESCO and we're neutral (or pretend to be) I suppose we still need hardware either way.

[@MarkMiller304]

The problem is getting independent countries to make decisions in unison and having a unified command structure. If that structure is put into stress would it hold or fracture amongst country lines.

[@falsevacuum4667]

They aren't independent countries anymore. They have sovereignty, but they are extremely integrated and interdependent through the EU and have been for decades.

[@MarkMiller304]

@@falsevacuum4667 they still don’t have the same cohesion that each state has with each other in the US. Each eu country still has say over their own army while the US has centralized command. EU os still an alliance of many countries at the end of the day while the US is one country.

[@falsevacuum4667]

@@MarkMiller304 I didn't claim they were a single country, but they are absolutely a confederation that together are more interdependent than independent while members.

[@erwannthietart3602]

​@@falsevacuum4667well France can still claim indepandance, it is deeply involved economically and politically yes and getting out would end in an English scenario. But it does want a leading place in said Europe which is not something most of Europe want because France shouldnt lead Europe etc...

[@8hq28]

That would be amazing

[@lordbeaverhistory]

You should add that 600 Leopard 2s or 600 Leclercs are more worth than 600 T72s or T90s for example

[@EUMadeSimple]

Yes - there are so many variables that need to be added. It is an imperfect comparison

[@joseguti.9752]

🇪🇸💞🇪🇺. Together we are better. 💪👍

[@aquantumtrost3590]

May sound stupid for some, but the easiest way to lead an eu army would be by handling the countrys like batallions or platoons and the general/ head of the army would function as the batallion/platoon leader. That's the only way i could see this functioning, because every country has their own basic training and their own rules inside the military so everyone gets trained differently. Everything else can function like it is already structured.

[@paulkazimierzdanisz5152]

Keeping technology ahead and safe is a must,

[@bgshin2879]

This is one of the funniest thing we’ve heard in a long time. 1. No army in history worked effectively for a long term by using multiple languages or language other than their own. 2. So called the collective team works mostly failed miserably including A400M, Eurofighter, NH90 etc etc. Even the MRO failed miserably. 3. Europe currently operates on unanimous decision making for the most serious issues. Unless this can be changed to normal majority decision making process, it will never work. This will be more difficult than EEC.

[@wernermuntz1292]

Before you Start building a EU Army, which already exists as EuroCorps, you've got to find EU-States willing to build a Föderation. Then the defence-politics as well as foreingh-politics over to the Federal Goverment

[@penchs7882]

Hello, How i can get in touch with you? Your information is very good and we can cooperate for future.

[@istoppedcaring6209]

ppp matters a lot offcourse but in terms of equipment it's not fully accurate, countries often import resources from whomever is cheapest or is best in terms of cost effectiveness, so many of these countries would not spend less on rare minerals and certain technologies and so on, so i'd say ppp should be calculated and then the effects reduced by 1/4th which is pretty conservative i'd say

[@floppa9415]

In my opinion this is the only way forward. I think its baffling this isn't discussed more and its so infuriating seeing all countries invest in their army without seemingly much coordination.

[@minoarno7415]

"The chinese economy is booming" While true I do believe it woulnd't be a surprise if the Chinese economy were to collapse this century.

[@sinoroman]

they've been saying china will collapse next year since 1979

[@Dodsodalo]

If y'all wanna see how that could happen within a DECADE check out Peter Zeihan. He even points out that Europe-American ties getting better in the future is MASSIVELY in both of their interests.

[@sinoroman]

Peter Z thinks most of Europe will fall. Russia will fall. China will fall. Japan and Koreas will fall. Iran will fall. Yet he thinks USA, Turkey, and India will do great. funny man

[@Dodsodalo]

@@sinoroman He looks mostly geography, energy, and demographic. Which are major issues that are cropping up.

[@Arcaryon]

Maybe not collapse but certainly experience a crisis.

[@Lemonz1989]

One of the things that makes Europe interesting is also its weakness. There are so many cultural, political and linguistic differences in Europe, even though it’s less than half the size of the US. China, USA and Russia all have centralized languages and governments that can make decision making fast and relatively easy. The EU has none of that. There are over 100 native languages in Europe. For example, I’m Faroese, an ethnic and linguistic minority within the Kingdom of Denmark. We are Danish citizens by birth, but aren’t EU citizens while living on the Faroe Islands, but all other EU citizens (except for native Danes from mainland Denmark) that move to the Faroe Islands retain their EU citizenship. Danes from mainland Denmark lose their EU citizenship when moving to the Faroe Islands, even though we all have Danish EU Passports. 14 years ago I flew the 1300 km to mainland Denmark and live around the middle of the country. Now I can’t use my native language for anything except reading Faroese news and speaking with my family. I have to use Danish for everything. It’s not a criticism, just a European’s perspective of what it’s like living in Europe. I can drive 2 hours south and reach the German border city of Flensburg, and only have rudimentary understanding of the language used there, and I have no idea how to navigate the social system and laws at all. It’s so different that I would be crippled if I didn’t prepare for weeks or months before moving. They are culturally very different as well. If I drive 3.5 hours east, I end up in the Swedish border city of Malmö and have no idea how to navigate the social system and laws, but I understand the language much better than German, so the switch would be easier. A 6 hours drive southwest will land me in the Netherlands and the same problem will arise, except now I have absolutely no understanding of the language together with all the other problems.

[@LCTesla]

this is becoming more and more of a necessity than a dream

[@Arcaryon]

I think the question for us, who are alive right now, is how we create a unified army where essentially, individual states can still exercise a degree of independence. I would be supportive of a fully centralized EU with a regular army too but as many people are at most ok with some degree of federalism, it’s imo. imperative for us to acknowledge their concerns until we fully can convince them of the benefits of more in depth cooperation.

[@EUMadeSimple]

That will be the difficulty. I think there currently is a lot of polarization :)

[@OkabexKurisu]

We need to take a look on swiss democracy model. That would be good. Decentralize power in a federate government.

[@Arcaryon]

@@OkabexKurisu I love the Swiss because they are basically a little, better EU inside the EU. Like Japan, always an interesting country to look into for inspiration in questions of policy.

[@fozzy1004]

@@EUMadeSimple And the Polarisation is because of the tactics of the EU, the character attacks on people that come by EU organisations and officials to people who question them or have concerns proves how tolerant they really are. The blatant disregard for democracy by EU organisations for political ideology is also very very concerning to me, if your views are not good enough to win a free and open election or vote then it should never implemented, the EU has ignored the voters throughout Europe many times, so in my view should not exist. I pray for the day the EU collapses and each country gets their own democracy back. The EU commission is one of the most anti democratic organisations on the planet today, I was in disbelief when I learned that the commission only needs to take the elected MEP'S in Parliament under advisement and not instruction. So to be clear, if the elected body of the EU the European Parliament vote against something, the Commission who is not elected by the voters can still sign it into law if they so please, and who arranges the commission members, big companies and lobbyist with big pockets, the EU is an exercise in the death of democracy.

[@mamsf3]

As much as I indulge in an EU superpower fantasy THIS is the only comment in here that makes sense. People are really asleep if they don't realize the first place an EU army would be deployed would be in Europe states themselves......@@fozzy1004

[@riccardogemme]

6:53 ti be fair, the new italian aricraft carrier is gonna take the place of one of the 2 already in service due to its age and small size, so Italy will not have 3 active aircraft carriers. That said, it's possible according to rumors (although very unlikely in my opinion) that the older aircraft carrier may not be decommissioned but instead be used as a drone carrier.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Thanks for the comment. I will look into it and update the description with the error.

[@riccardogemme]

If it helps to speed up the gathering of information: the older one would be the Garibaldi, while the recently commisioned carrier that will take its place is the Trieste. The remaining one, current flagship of the italian navy, is the Cavour.

[@EUMadeSimple]

@@riccardogemme I have updated the description. thanks again :)

[@abdulqayumkhan3992]

Good idea for their Defence point of View.

[@stevenmiklasinski3705]

As an EU-Citizen i am glad the algorithm showed me this channel. subscribed.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Thanks and great to have u onboard

[@Yoshinski1]

How powerful will the new German military be in terms of military might?

[@Yoshinski1]

What position will it be in?

[@Yoshinski1]

@Kata San123 oh ok lol

[@MDP1702]

@Kata San123 There also are quite a lot of German soldiers that state much of the non-combat ready equipment is more due to strict German standards rather than actually not being necessarily combat ready, for example even a malfuctioning signal light could make an entire system be deemed unready. Where and when did this general said this btw?

[@akteno2796]

@Kata San123 im German and i can tell you they just want to take as much money as possible right now and thats why they portray themselves in such a bad shape. There are problems but its mostly small ones and Bureaucratic bs. The biggest problems at the moment is that the there is not enough stuff, wich could be fixed pretty easily and is already in the process (F35 buying and stuff...)

[@NoOne-ol6dw]

@Kata San123 The situation with the Bundeswehr is exaggerated. I think we are more publicly when it comes to problems. We have low corruption, highly educated personnel and spend more than most countries. Only big problem is bureaucracy

[@raymondwood2444]

Absolutely love this idea for helping to strengthen the defense of Europe without having to completely rely on NATO, my only concern is how this would integrate with or work alongside NATOs command structure to prevent any turf wars or losses in communication between the two

[@Greenmarty]

IMHO it'd be worth trying to create military EU norms in analogy to norms in engineering etc. to get EU armies compatible (Processes, equipment, training, etc ). It will make it possible to create one huge army or smaller ones that can operate independently while logistics and maintenance will work throughout whole EU efficiently as each country would serve as a depo (node) creating huge network. There also has to be centralized command for worse case scenario that doesn't prioritize certain countries over others.

[@Artur-sv5xz]

although not the most experienced in this topic the thing I do know is, is that China and the US calcculated their Military Spending differently and as I know if calcculated correclty and put side by side ( china and the US ) the outcome for the spending would be pretty similiar ( max 100 billion difference.) this obviously would then also mean that well that "european army" would be way nearer the US and china then expected. Just to give an Example, The US counts everything into the military spending budget : the soldiers payment / their health care basic neccesities etc / also the housing bases / military projects / then the same goes for the navy airforce. Obviously i cant really count how much "lobbying" happens each year or how much cash is actually used for "military purposes". We should also not forget that there are US bases around the world , so those also need to be maintained. btw the US started recently to push more volunteers also making more ads for the military bla bla. Now for China there are multiple seperate stripes basically what i mean is that health care the money used for military bases training etc. doesnt get counted. Just the pure Equipment in those regards but meh im just a crazy guy with a towel on his head. also sorry for my english it aint my first language XD

[@akteno2796]

What is no mentioned in the video at all is the training of the troops, European countries have the most well trained troops the equipment is also not just numbers. (as far as i know Greece Russia and some others count tanks from ww2 as tanks in their army for some reason) the survivability of the MBTs is important, the number of APCs is important as well. Its a good informativ Video but its not just a numbers game. And just because something is declared as a destroyer doesn't mean it is one (Japans "destroyers" have a variety from Destroyers to aircraft carriers for example...)

[@EUMadeSimple]

True :) I should have mentioned training

[@apangel100]

This is a well put together video. I'm not sure that we need a EU army though given that we pretty much already have one - NATO but with the help of allies. Also given Germanys recent reluctance to throw its full potential behind Ukraine ( i.e not having yet sent the tanks it promised ) it's difficult not to view them as a reliable military partner. If an EU army was to come about however it would be the one thing I would regret about Brexit. The well experienced and well practised British army along with the French would have made a powerful back bone. With the smaller EU states acting as support it would have been a force to be reckoned with globally. As said though we already have that - NATO

[@arfermo853]

Interesting because that is the only reason i voted for brexit, europe will have its new group and army and i didnt want us controlled by europe

[@mrchow3177]

Yes but "we" dont have NATO. The US has Nato..

[@arfermo853]

@@mrchow3177 what has the US got to do with this conversation? You communists are never happy unless you are in control and able to imprison anyone who disagree,s with you

[@mrchow3177]

@@arfermo853 I am certainly not communists lol.

[@arfermo853]

@@mrchow3177 lol yes you are or you are just a moaner

[@dragos550]

4:11 Wrong, the yearly budget for Romania's defence system will increase from 2,04% to 2.5% of GDP - above the 2%-of-GDP statutory level for Nato member countries - for next year, President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on the Day of the National Army, October 25, 2022 And currently (2022) the defense budget of Romania is 25.9 billion lei (6.14 billion dollars), it is equivalent to 2.04% of GDP (not 1.95% as you put) and on the official NATO page Romania is ranked with 1.99% but it is not updated

[@forzaazzurri1471]

I feel like this video could get more views if it was titled the way your other German military video was. As an assertion rather than a question. Such as “The EU Army Will Rival the US, China and Russia.” It’s a little more captivating, I think.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Good point . Maybe I will try it and change it today. My new video I am currently making is about a tiered (3 level) EU ... Macrons idea for the future of the EU. Any good title ideas for that? :)

[@EUMadeSimple]

I have tried a new title :) Lets see if it makes a difference

[@forzaazzurri1471]

@@EUMadeSimple I have a few! A serious one: ‘Macron’s Multi-Tiered Europe.’ ‘Macron’s Plan To Reshape the EU.’ ‘The European Political Community, Macron’s Revolutionary Idea.’ A funny one: ‘Macron's Spotify Membership Idea For The EU.’ A controversial one: ‘Macron’s New Europe To Include Ukraine.’

[@EUMadeSimple]

Love them. The last one is nice too even though it is controversial :) I will think about them - thank you.

[@paul1979uk2000]

What I've noticed when it comes to power projecting, the economy is what really matters, if you have a strong big economy, you can pretty much build anything you want with the backing of that economy. Russia has a weak economy, hence a weak military that is really being exposed in Ukraine, after all, we should remember that Russia's economy is around the size that fits in between Spain and Italy whiles having to cater to a much bigger population, basically, Russia is weak in comparison to the US or China. As for the EU, they've got the economy but they don't have the political unity, if the EU countries actually got together, pooled their resources, get rid of a lot of duplications and spend 2% on the military, it would be a powerful military, far more so then China or Russia but not as much as the US because they are bat crazy with fear of China so they are spending more on the military than they should which is costing the American people a lot of money that could be better used for social programs which the US is lacking. I also think EU countries that want to do this should do it, don't wait to get all EU members onboard as that is unlikely, do like they did with the Euro and Schengen, gradually, more countries will want to join as it's shown to work, that's the best way to get some movement on it and I think Germany would prefer to do it at an EU level then German level because of the war guilt from the first and second world war, basically, they might feel more comfortable in the EU doing the military for them, France would likely be onboard because they want to project power around the world and realize that the EU is the only way to do it as the members are too small to matter, Italy wants to rebuild the glory of Rome and see the EU as a way of achieving that, after all, it's no accident that the treaty was signed in Rome for the EU, Spain I think would also be another country onboard, if those get together and do it, they'll very likely get a few smaller countries onboard and that's how the ball gets moving, that's probably the best way to do it because the EU is never going to get them all onboard in one go. If the EU did have a strong military, it would take off a lot of the burden from the US around the world as the EU could share in that, it would also reduce the cost a lot for the US because the EU and US could work on a lot of military projects together and share the cost out, there are a lot of benefits for both sides in doing this if the US stops seeing the EU as a rival and I think longer term, the EU and US are going to need to work a lot closer together to contain China and protect western values. On another note, I think the EU needs many reforms and needs to integrate more if it wants to protect it's political, economic and social interest around the world, if EU countries keep bickering with themselves, they are just going to get pushed aside by the US and China, so sooner or later, the EU members are going to have to get their act together and with everything that is happening in Ukraine, the next 5-10 years is the perfect opening to do real change in the EU. Another factor we should remember, it's not about how much is spent on the military or how many troops, tanks and planes you have, it's how high-tech the military is, once you get to a certain military advanced level, it's highly unlikely anyone will mess with you, not even the US because the cost will be too high, after all, look at every war the US has been in since the second world war, it's been against much poorer countries that can't really fight back, go up against modern countries and the cost in lives and money goes crazy, hence why, the EU even with the spending now would be untouchable, but if they do combine, pool their resources and spend 2% of their GDP on the military, the US, China or India wouldn't mess with that because the cost would be very high for themselves, after all, look how much it cost the US just going up against Iraq, it's all about the economy and modern tech, the EU, US and China to a less degree have that and that makes an all out war among them very unlikely.

[@donkey9113]

Russia is blackmailing everyone with nuclear war That’s all they can do lately

[@henningratjen4364]

Great analysis

[@ricardorolho7810]

Also, EU is not investing much in defence for a long time, at least since the USSR colapse, the plan was to make peace by making trade with their "rivals", that was the plan mostly with Russia and China but the plan failed after 30years. EU combine has the 2nd or 3th biggest economy in the world and, with US, the best high-tech and engineering in the world. Keep in mind after the war in ukraine German alone pledge to spend 100b in defence from now on and im positive that many other in EU will follow the same path.

[@victorpagoulatos3184]

russia all that time was fighting with 200k troops while ukraine was all out with nato intel and weapons , yall just western media sheep

[@voidwalker9223]

Only thing I disagree is China. China is a bubble waiting to pop. Their economy is run by extreme propaganda forced labor with 1/4 of the pay and safety standards of EU and US. China even bans their population from playing certain hours of videos games due to the need of labor. Including internet restrictions. Just like russias military chinas economy is a paper tiger that is stuck in the 1930s standards. Chinas biggest push is their population. Without it they would be just like India.

[@bjorncopperside4572]

Eu sou a favor de um exercito Europeu Unido, especialmente agora que a Rússia pensa que é o império romano PORTUGAL CARALHOOOOO

[@realaurorien]

Please, what can Russia do? I am against it because take a look at the shit load of problems we have such as the energy crisis, inflation and an incoming economic crisis.

[@UnitedPacci]

Calma calma carajo

[@JoaoMariaNunes]

its about time we go for it...

[@beatdabass724]

Goood video ! !

[@Goatlinton]

do CANZUK vs European union next

[@StevenSmith-mk5fg]

I think even Bangladesh's military rivals that of Russia's

[@PumaDAce-sg5zv]

Austria is a neutral country and will never join an european Army.

[@AntioneAngele-cy8yb]

Whe dont need you!😂😂

[@stefanopalliggiano6596]

It's worth noticing that comparing the paper strength of armies is not necessarily meaningful. The combat readiness of the equipment is way more important. A rusty tank that has run out of diesel is useless. Same goes for a flagship, armed to the teeth with air defenses on paper, yet readily sunk with a couple of Neptune missiles. Any references to an ongoing conflict are, of course, purely coincidental :)

[@Geker3]

116 tanks in Czechia?! You must be counting tanks in our toyshops aswell :D

[@Pragmatic_Optimist_MCR]

I am pro European and pro a federal republic of Europe

[@sonneh86]

Few remarks. Would not be a bad idea to factor in corruption. A lot of spending in China and Russia goes into the pockets of corrupt officers. Also battle readiness, morale and experience should also portray a less favourable picture to these two countries. China's economy is also not nearly as booming as they would like you to believe. In fact, their economy is heavily shaking.

[@EUMadeSimple]

Yep thats good input :)

[@idkimlikereallybored9533]

everyone knows the CCP economical figures, especially local, are totally fake, just to ensure the reaching of objective and get promoted instead of punished, except people making these videos apparently 😂

[@esziis]

What about the eez? Not to mention that France overseas is literraly HUGE. But also Portugal eez. This is a significant plus when we talk about superpower. Going back to the France, France if we include the eez of all the country's to it's superficy. France is the 5th country behind China. And just France.

[@istoppedcaring6209]

the chinese economy is by no means booming compared to the EU, the EU is not doing that great but china has taken massive hits of late, especially since they decided to prematurely challenge the US and has reached the middle income trap whilst having reached the limits of what infrastructure and basic education investments can do, and the aging population, corruption and unreliable numbers, all of it plays a role

[@fatihedinc2127]

E.U never will be a superpower without Turkey and England..

[@Nietzsche1]

i agree if eu wants to make european army they must think turkey and uk

[@Josho922]

i agree

[@paolocantoni7065]

Turkey is asia and will never be accepted in EU, UK unluckly has gone.... anyway money and men are enough if EU wants to become a military power... but at the end is important to be a military power? For me no , organize a common army yes

[@fatihedinc2127]

@@paolocantoni7065 please look at the your atlas .. where iş turkey ? Turkey iş an europa country.. Turkey iş a mediterrian country ..Turkey iş an asia country..Turkey iş an eurisa country..Turkey iş a middel east country.. They are wildcard.. if eu want to be an geostratejic süper power They need Turkey..

[@fatihedinc2127]

@@paolocantoni7065 please look at the your atlas .. where iş turkey ? Turkey iş an europa country.. Turkey iş a mediterrian country ..Turkey iş an asia country..Turkey iş an eurisa country..Turkey iş a middel east country.. They are wildcard.. if eu want to be an geostratejic süper power They need Turkey..

[@yannik8271]

I think we should go our own European way. Sure, we are closely allied with the US, but it is not seldom that their interests and ours are not the same. They should follow their interests, but so should we. We have the means to be a significant and influential player on the world stage. We should use them. Moreover I think, we have incorporated the best values currently to strive for in comparison to any other country or country-like institution and we should be proud of it. Proud, but not complacent. So let's be ambitious to strengthen our own European way.

[@maxwalker1159]

Interesting

[@xn0gaming]

These number games are always a bit weird. They do not take into account the state of these armies, combat-readiness etc.

[@popelgruner595]

So for China and Russia it is a clear yes, an EU army would rival both. And that would answer the question related to the US. An EU army would at least be as much of an issue as the Chinese People's Army.

[@j.j.4150]

Yep, US's worst nightmare is probably exactly that. A completely unified EU, not giving in to the US and their interests and influence.

[@askatata]

Not to forget that some EU countries like France, Poland or Germany are steadily increasing or want to increase their Military Budget. Germany for example finally aims to reach the 2% Mark wich would be around 72 Billion €

[@Blaxk77]

France planned to rise theirs defense budget to 400 Billions in 2030, in a progressive stance of 50 Billions per year

[@askatata]

@@Blaxk77 Yup, thats Pretty Heavy xD

[@funkykong9214]

Also, China's percentage of defense spending in gdp is still quite low. Once we're in wartime it is a very likely possibility that it will spike up to 2~3%.

[@terribrad24]

Small correction, the 2% is falsely often communicated in media as spending guideline, which it is not. It was discussed before, but never decided that it actually is a guideline

[@AdrianSams]

It was agreed in 2006 by NATO defence ministers.The figure was 2%. It's there in black and white on NATO's website. Quote from NATO's website "In 2006, NATO Defence Ministers agreed to commit a minimum of 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defence spending to continue to ensure the Alliance's military readiness. This guideline also serves as an indicator of a country's political will to contribute to NATO's common defence efforts since the defence capacity of each member has an impact on the overall perception of the Alliance's credibility as a politico-military organisation". "While the 2% of GDP guideline alone is no guarantee that money will be spent in the most effective and efficient way to acquire and deploy modern capabilities, it remains an important indicator of the political resolve of individual Allies to devote to defence a relatively small but still significant level of resources."

[@Timberjac]

Nice work. Thanks. With power, comes responsibility. For decades, we Europeans have walked away from our responsibility by letting the U.S. act as the world's policeman. When it coincides with what we think needs to be done, there is no problem, when that does not happen, we complain, but it is still our problem, not assuming our responsibilities that we should have assumed. The EU must have the capacity to take responsibility and intervene wherever it deems necessary.

[@HedgehogZone]

We have already done more than enough!

[@HappyCatholicDane]

The question that needs to be asked is “does the EU want or need to rival the US. I for one, don’t think that should be our goal. That said, more defense integration is certainly a great idea. But it will happen slowly. An EU army won’t happen anytime soon, and if it does, it will probably happen as a reaction to some form of crisis.

[@Arcaryon]

Well - we are faced with the biggest war of our current era on the European continent. Russia will potentially openly ally with China ( I don’t dare to imagine the secret treaties already in place ) and that alone is reason enough to speed up the project, as in a few years, we could see another Donald Trump. It’s not about rivaling the USA though, this much we certainly agree on.

[@HappyCatholicDane]

@@Arcaryon I agree, we need to speed up defense integration. But a United military isn’t in the cards right now. What we hopefully will get are stuff like joint command structures, joint defense projects on space and weapon development, joint task forces, etc. Going further than that, requires a treaty change. Which I don’t see happening right now, as a large portion of the member states would be against it. I agree that a China-Russian alliance seems very likely at this point. Which would fundamentally change everything in the global power dynamics. It will push Europe into the pacific theater and the likes of India into the European theater. Creating some massive global power blocks. Which Europe must be ready for.

[@Arcaryon]

@@HappyCatholicDane Exactly my thoughts. Although I think, India is already here and we are already there, given our actions in the South Chinese sea.

[@tedcrilly46]

this. why are we comparing to the u.s. is it a race? who cares about what u.s. spends. the u.s. uses its military as a giant employment program. and eu is way too big and too far for u.s. to be a threat.

[@alwynwatson6119]

Well the New world order is planning on invading the US.

[@tomofasia]

Those numbers are so misleading. Finland was marked as having 23k(will be increased) military personell but it’s a peace time strength when we only have to train new conscripts and do refresher courses. Wartime strength is about 280k with about 900k in reserves if ish hits the fan.

[@luxaly9510]

EU Combined Arms Forces would be the best... 257bn $ + also in times of war the combined spending would assure that we stand a ground... 10bn more in germany dont matter that much but like 100bn more EU wide could get top notch military equippment ofc there is to think of what happens when one country decides to exit EU... would likely get their EU forces back wich are then well trained... and could be based of spending into the EUCF gets millitary equipment

[@robertbones326]

Germany recently became 3rd largest defence spender

[@peter_oso]

And strangely Germany has problem with giving more than 20 tanks for allied countries in need. Disgusting.

[@robertbones326]

@@peter_oso Says someone who's never been elected to make decisions on behalf of their country. Get over yourself.

[@TheGabbaKeks]

@@peter_oso Well, I guess this is regarding the Ringtausch with Poland. A t72 's unit cost was 0,5 million in 2011. A Leo's cost is around 8 million USD, the most modern one around 15 million USD. Around 200 tanks were delivered by Poland, so I would say 20 Leo's is a fair deal.

[@idkimlikereallybored9533]

@@peter_oso with all the money the EU gave poland to make it a civil country, i hardly think they can protest if for once they get an equal value exchange, i mean, i get it, if you're used to getting everything without giving anything, a fair trade will seem bad 😂

[@chriskalogrias926]

@@idkimlikereallybored9533 If they didn't need them would they give money? Is it even called giving when you need someone? Pay and shut up.

[@semiramisubw4864]

an EU army could be a superpower, once we all in the EU put our differences away. Russia an EU army can for sure challenge (without warheads ofc). China is an completly another beast in itself. Its the workbench of the world and if they for once rebuild their whole economy to be ready for a war, basically they can challenge everyone. They spending doesnt matter that much aswell because they can produce VERY cheap.

[@SchlomoGoldbaum]

Hey! Cool channel! I am a member of a left-wing party in Germany and an absolute supporter of the EU. I often say that it would make sense to strengthen and bring the EU together more and more in all areas. In my mind there will only be one big Europe in the future, with a big European Parliament and European citizens. This makes everything easier to control: climate protection, poverty, security and protection, etc. etc. A large Europe should be our goal for the future. You have my sub. ;-)

[@mariorybik3605]

It's amazing how much has changed since the release of this film, 1 year was enough 😉

[@gamerforever4837]

You also need to consider, some of the smaller e.u countries are net importers and low gdp, so it would be harder for some. Furthermore, you would have to give the E.U military command the ability to keep troops active even when countries like england for example that wastes money larping like it's 1520. Also, to be able to prevent a country from pulling their military assets and troops away from a specific conflict.

[@TheSimon253]

You can't just compare raw numbers of for example tanks. There is a huge difference between a T-72 and a leopard 2.

[@alexkatc59]

Oh, yes T-72 has third generation night view scope when leopard 2 has only second generation. T-72 has 2 night view scopes, one for gunner and one for commander, leo 2 has only one scope. T-72 has better aim system which let to lock on moving targets, when Leo 2 has no such thing - only fire stabilizator.

[@uk6728]

Can EU Army challenge anyone Look back at history

[@Sam-tz8ou]

WW 1 and WW2 sure 😂😂

[@juliushilpert8820]

You forgot to recalculate the military Spendings with the inflation rate. If you do so, you have a Plus of ca. 18%. Thats a big difference.

[@sandervanderlinden6060]

Fun fact holland actually got 4 destroyers, but we say them on a different name because we wanne look like a peaceful country. We have the “de 7e proviencien, tromp, de Ruyter and de Evertsen” And a about Luxemburg. The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg made a pact we call our self the “Benelux”. The goal of this pact is easy treading and protecting our self with defence. For an example the Netherlands and Belgium are working together in the navy. There ships are always in our navy base and our ships are always in the Belgium navy base.