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Europe Moves Toward Pan-European Army as US Alliance Crumbles Over Iran
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Recent US complaints about NATO allies and US President Donald Trump’s threats to quit the alliance are pushing European countries to seek alternative security arrangements. This includes a pan-European army, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated on April 7, according to Reuters.
The alliance was thrust into a historic crisis after European nations declined to send their navies to open the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.
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In response to the lack of European participation, Trump declared he is considering withdrawing the United States from NATO entirely.
Speaking to the La Sexta TV channel, Albares acknowledged that the decision ultimately belongs to Trump, but he pointedly reminded Washington that NATO allies stood in unwavering solidarity with the US following the September 11 attacks.
"NATO is a mutually beneficial alliance for both Europeans and Americans,” Albares said. “But the US administration’s remarks and new positions on Euro-Atlantic security are inviting us Europeans to take a leap in terms of our sovereignty and defense matters.”
To achieve true strategic autonomy, Albares argued that the European Union must aggressively advance toward establishing a pan-European army, integrating its fragmented defense industries, and creating both a digital single market and a capital markets union. “We must take our citizens' security and dissuasion into our own hands,” he added, according to Reuters.
Spain’s leftist government has emerged as one of the most vocal European critics of the war on Iran, describing the military campaign as illegal and reckless. Backing its rhetoric with action, Madrid has completely closed Spanish airspace to US military aircraft involved in the Middle Eastern strikes and banned American forces from utilizing jointly operated military bases located in southern Spain.
In retaliation for these restrictions, Trump has vowed to hit Spain with severe trade tariffs.
The rift between the United States and its European allies has steadily widened since the outbreak of the war in Iran. Last week, President Donald Trump explicitly warned that a NATO withdrawal was on the table after European capitals balked at supporting joint military operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
As Washington prepares for massive unilateral strikes without European naval backing, the resulting friction is forcing the EU to rapidly reconsider its reliance on American security guarantees and accelerate talks regarding a unified defense force.
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