A senior EU eurocrat has said he wants billions of Euros going towards the EU defence fund.
Internal market commissioner Thierry Breton is set to present the European Defence Investment Program (EDIP) on February 27.
EDIP, a cash pot aimed at boosting joint weapons procurement, has been described by some Eurosceptics as being an 'EU army'.
He said the bill for the EDIP could reach an eye-watering €100 billion.
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton is set to present the European Defence Investment Program (EDIP) on February 27
Getty
At an event hosted by the liberal Renew Europe group, Breton said: "I believe we have to have a huge defense fund to help to accelerate, even probably in the amount of €100 billion.
"Back to 2020, January. We are sitting with Ursula von der Leyen, myself, Phil Hogan and the president of the United States of America. We were in Davos.
"And Donald Trump said to Ursula, ‘you need to understand that if Europe is under attack we will never come to help you and to support you, and by the way NATO is dead, and we will leave, we will quit Nato.’ It was the president of the United States of America, he may come back.
"That was a big wake up call … So now more than ever, we know that we are on our own, of course."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Italian foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the EU should form its own combined army
Getty
According to remarks seen by Playbook, Breton will today tout his vision for a "Europe that protects its citizens, transforms its economy, and projects itself as a global power" at an event hosted by the think tank European Policy Center.
It comes as Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said the European Union should form its own combined army that could play a role in peacekeeping and preventing conflict.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, said: "If we want to be peacekeepers in the world, we need a European military.
"And this is a fundamental precondition to be able to have an effective European foreign policy."
It comes as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago has caused a lot of discussion about EU military cooperation.
However, efforts have been more focused on Nato expansion, with EU nation Finland joining the alliance last year and Sweden also on track to become a member.
Tajani added: "In a world with powerful players like the United States, China, India, Russia - with crises from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific - Italian, German, French or Slovenian citizens can only be protected by something that already exists, namely the European Union."
