Czechs and Hungarians call for EU army amid security worries

The leaders of the Czech Republic and Hungary say a "joint European army" is needed to bolster security in the EU.

They were speaking ahead of talks in Warsaw with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They dislike her welcome for Muslim migrants from outside the EU.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said "we must give priority to security, so let's start setting up a joint European army".

The UK government has strongly opposed any such moves outside Nato's scope.

The Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak leaders are coordinating their foreign policy as the "Visegrad Group".

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said building a joint European army would not be easy, but he called for discussion to start on it.

The EU has joint defence capabilities in the form of 1,500-strong battle groups, but they have not been tested in combat yet.

Last year European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for a European army to give the EU muscle in confronting threats from Russia or elsewhere...
 BBC
26/8/16