Army of Europe

At the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military, and army -- an Army of Europe. And I really believe that time has come. The Armed Forces of Europe must be created." This idea is almost as old as NATO, and it will likely come to nothing for the same reasons it was stillborn in the early years of the Cold War when France proposed and then rejected the European Defense Community. In this episode, historian Kevin Ruane traces the history of a never-realized idea, but one that is nonetheless urgent as Europe scrambles to provide for its own security in the Age of Trump.

Further reading:

The Rise and Fall of the European Defence Community by Kevin Ruane

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Learn how the past shapes the present with the best historians in the world. Everything happening today comes from something, somewhere, so let's start thinking historically about current events. History As It Happens, with new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, features interviews with today's top scholars and thinkers, interwoven with audio from history's archive.