[3] However, during the Cold War, Western Europe relied on NATO for defence, precluding the development of European cooperation.
[4] Immediately after the "fall of communism", the defence apparatus was preoccupied by NATO expansion into the former Soviet bloc.
The idea of a European army gained popularity after the September 11 attacks and NATO's involvement in conflicts outside of Europe.
[5] French president Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both expressed their support for a joint European army.
Macron endorsed the idea in 2018, after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and in light of American President Donald Trump's scepticism of Atlanticism.
[14][15] Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also spoke in favour of the creation of the European army to protect Europe's borders.
[19] The announcement of the AUKUS "trilateral security partnership" between Australia, UK and US to "sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region" is seen as an attempt to limit China's rise as a global military power.
However, this has led to some mistrust in Europe, in particular in France, that has contributed to increasing the process of the formation of a European Army.
[23] On 5 November 2024, in the midst of Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election, Luxembourgian Prime Minister Luc Frieden called for the formation of a European Army stating that "Russia's unacceptable invasion of Ukraine has been a wake-up call.
The United States ambassador to NATO also expressed opposition to any European protectionism in developing its own defence industry.