'The EU is a global payer, not a global player': EP Foreign Affairs committee chief McAllister

"What we will see in the next years in the European Union is that we will take concrete steps towards a European Defence Union," McAllister says. "That means ramping up our defence industry production in Europe. We have to do more research together. We need to purchase much more together. We need to spend our taxpayers' money more efficiently. Let's try and do as much as possible at a European level. At the moment, 80 percent of defence procurement is still taking place at a purely national level. I think there's a lot of room for improvement. That's why I also welcome proposals which have now been made by different political parties in Europe, for a European Commissioner with a dedicated portfolio for security and defence. We also need a defence ministers' format. At the EU level, the main focus should be on establishing a European single market for the defence industry."

McAllister elaborates on the role that a future EU Security and Defence Commissioner would play. "The fields this man or this woman would be dealing with are shared on the one hand with the High Representative [for foreign and security policy] and, on the other hand, with the Commissioner who holds the industrial portfolio," McAllister explains. "It's about bringing the 27 EU member states together. Planning activities and also coordinating closely with NATO. The European Defence Union, which we are working on, is like a puzzle with 5,000 pieces. The frame has been set in recent years with a permanent structured cooperation with the European Defence Agency, and with the European Defence Fund. But now we need to have more pieces and put them together in an intelligent way."

We put it to McAllister that, ideals aside, the EU does not speak with one voice