The EU Army That They Said Wasn't Real.

[BIAD]

...I'm just not understanding what the EU is actually claiming to be, I think... or it may be a difference
in my US-centric vs. Eurocentric view of how things work...

It's all about the Old World rules.

As a peasant of the British Isles, I can only offer the information I was given by the Powers-That-Be during my younger years.
This information may be incorrect at times, but it's unintentional and based on my perception of what happened then and where
we are now.

After the Second World War, Europe was basically buggered. You've got a number of impoverished countries picking themselves
up from the resources-draining conflict and looking around to see how we could begin to re-establish each individual nation under
the flag of peace for all.

To create economic integration and therefore, improve the lives of those in the European countries, Luxembourg, Belgium, France,
Italy, the Netherlands and West Germany agreed to trade within a set of rules involving easing Customs and bureaucracy.
The alliance was agreed to have a set of constitutional ideals with the focus on making sure that trade was regulated and centralised
and the agreed treaties pointed the way to supranational way of thinking.

The United Kingdom wasn't an original signatory and it was 1963 when we first applied.
In Old World tradition, De Gaulle vetoed it and did it again in 1967. The big-nosed bastard had to kick the bucket before we were
eventually signed-up in 1972, but his perception of Britain (he was really thinking of England) wasn't totally wrong.

So the European Union was built on the idea of a common marketplace where trade -between countries that agreed to the certain
rules, would benefit via the use of stripping out centuries-old regulations of tariffs, Customs control and access to diverse products.
Ironically, Britain called it 'The Common Market' and then later became generally accepted as 'The European Economic Community
(EEC)'.

The real problem -in my view, was when the EEC moved from trade and economics into politics. That's where the rot started.
Don't get me wrong and I said, De Gaulle's view on Britain wasn't generally wrong. Our island-mentality can be a nuisance and even
to the point where Germans used to call us 'Inselaffe'... island apes, a derogatory term due to our distrustful nature and the brutish
obtuse view on anything offshore.

England have always fought against and with France. France have always fought and with Spain, Germany fought because it was
always being ganged-upon by the countries around it, the Irish fought themselves and England, when England pushed Scotland,
Scotland nodded to France and around and around we all went.

I have no idea what Belgium is, West Germany always needs watching because they always cause trouble, the Netherlands grows
tulips, Italy sells leather goods and sided with Hitler, Luxembourg was a radio channel that played pop music and wavered in and out
at night when the frequency was crap. And France... well, we've had our run-ins with them when we used bows and arrows and they
were best-buds with the Pope. (The two-fingered gesture of Churchill derived from showing your two fingers at the French because
when captured during those long-ago wars, French soldiers cut off those particular digits to stop an English soldier using the long bow).

See...? The British working-class attitude of interacting with mainland Europe isn't very nice, is it?!
..........................................

From trade to political control and then to becoming an Empire fit for Germany's approval.
But an empire needs a country... or a set of countries under one banner.

"The European flag symbolises both the European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe.
It features a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background. They stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and
harmony among the peoples of Europe.
The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of
unity."

SOURCE1:

The EU has a flag.
..............................

But the many currencies of the countries that make up the EU can not assist a viable, stable economy and so the Euro appeared.
The United States of America have the dollar, a currency that holds great sway across the globe, why not have one that rivals it?

'...The euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world
after the United States dollar. As of August 2018, with more than €1.2 trillion in circulation, the euro has one
of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S.
dollar...'

SOURCE2:

The EU has its own money.
..............................

Religion gets a pass when dealing with modern-day Europe. The dominant Judaic Christianity religion no longer holds
a demanding control on Europeans and is affable alongside other religions.

'The largest religion in Europe is Christianity, but irreligion and practical secularization are strong.
Two countries in Southeastern Europe have Muslim majorities.'

SOURCE3:

..............................

In regards of a EU military force, at the time of writing, I believe we're not there fully as an announced army, navy and air-force
solely beholding to the European Union. Currently, forces from the respective countries make up the multinational military body
that involves itself in peace-keeping and missions that the Council of the European Union deem appropriate.

'Land forces:
The European Corps (Eurocorps) is an army corps of approximately 1,000 soldiers stationed in Strasbourg,
France. Based in the French city of Strasbourg, the corps is the nucleus of the Franco-German Brigade.

The I. German/Dutch Corps is a multinational formation consisting of units from the Dutch and German armies.
Due to its role as a NATO High Readiness Forces Headquarters, soldiers from other NATO member states,
the United States, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom amongst others, are also stationed at
Münster.

The Multinational Corps Northeast, a multinational corps established via a Danish-German-Polish corps convention
The European Gendarmerie Force, abbreviated EUROGENDFOR or EGF, is an intervention force with militarised
police functions and specialisation in crisis management.

Air forces:
The European Air Transport Command (EATC) is the command centre that exercises the operational control of the
majority of the aerial refueling capabilities and military transport fleets of its participating nations.
Located at Eindhoven Airbase in the Netherlands, the command also bears a limited responsibility for exercises,
aircrew training and the harmonisation of relevant national air transport regulations.
The command was established in 2010 with a view to provide a more efficient management of the participating nations'
assets and resources in this field.

Naval forces:
The European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR or EMF) is a non-permanent, military force that may carry out naval,
air and amphibious operations, with an activation time of five days after an order is received.
The force was formed in 1995 to fulfill missions defined in the Petersberg Declaration, such as sea control, humanitarian
missions, peacekeeping operations, crisis response operations, and peace enforcement.

Multi-component:
The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), is a Franco-British military force.
It draws upon both the British Armed Forces and the French Armed Forces to field a deployable force with land, air and
maritime components together with command and control and supporting logistics.

It is distinct from the similarly named UK Joint Expeditionary Force. The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (or CJEF)
is envisaged as a deployable, combined Franco-British military force for use in a wide range of crisis scenarios, up to
and including high intensity combat operations.

As a joint force it involves all three armed Services: a land component composed of formations at national brigade level,
maritime and air components with their associated Headquarters, together with logistics and support functions.
The CJEF is not conceived as a standing force but rather as available at notice for UK-French bilateral, NATO, European
Union, United Nations or other operations.

Combined air and land exercises commenced during 2011 with a view towards developing a full capability.
The CJEF is also seen as a potential stimulus towards greater interoperability and coherence in military doctrine,
training and equipment requirements.'

SOURCE4:

But still, the EU has a military force... sort of.

So as it stands, a large number of taxable people, a continent where all those people abide a flag, it's own money and an army.
@Ninurta. You kicked Britain out of the US because you didn't like being controlled by those overseas.
You know what it feels like!