John Baron MP criticises plans for EU Army

MP says this underlines risks of voting to remain in EU

The German Government has recently issued a White Paper calling for the creation of a European Army, a joint headquarters and shared military assets. This is not the first time the EU has pushed for such a scheme – the Treaty of Lisbon envisages the creation of a European Army, stating ‘the common security and defence policy shall include the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy’. In addition, there is already an EU military staff – please see ‘Notes to Editors’.

John said,

“There is no need for a European Army – NATO already fulfils this function, and provides a powerful and credible defensive alliance against all threats. Unlike some EU countries, who consider NATO an impediment to closer union, we in Britain value our strong links with the US and Canada.”

“The German White Paper makes it quite clear in which direction the EU is heading – voting ‘in’ is the riskier option, and will ensure we remain on the conveyor belt towards every closer political, economic and military union. This is not in our country’s best interest, and is yet another reason why I will be voting ‘out’ on 23rd June.”

Ends
Word Count: 210
Date: 5th May 2016

Notes to Editors:

• Details of the German White Paper are available at: http://goo.gl/tYMuAc.
• A short video about the EU military staff is available at: https://goo.gl/dC8Bml.
• In 2012, John led the Parliamentary campaign to get the Prime Minister to legislate in that Parliament for a referendum in this. He organised two letters to the Prime Minister, signed by 100 Conservative MPs, calling for referendum legislation to be placed on the Statute Book in the last Parliament for an in/out referendum in this Parliament. This helped persuade David Cameron to promise an in/out vote in his Bloomberg Speech in January 2013.
• John then tabled an amendment to the Queen’s Speech in May 2013, regretting the absence of referendum legislation in the Government’s agenda.
• Though the amendment was defeated, it was supported by 115 Conservative MPs. This persuaded the Prime Minister to go down the Private Member’s Bill route and, when this was twice defeated by Labour and Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians, to place it at the centre of the 2015 Conservative manifesto at the General Election.