"We did it, EU army is no dream - it's reality coming true"

Federica Mogherini says that the idea of a common security structure and cooperation in the EU is no longer a plan or a dream, but a reality.

Speaking at the European Defense Agency (EDA) annual conference, the EU foreign policy and defense chief said that 23 member-states have confirmed their readiness, while they would soon be joined by more.

"We are building the European Union of security and defense. It's not a plan any more. It's not a dream any more. It's reality coming true," Mogherini said in her address.

"The dream of our founding fathers and mothers is finally coming true. More than 60 years later all the building blocks of our security and defense Union are finally there today so we can now project and develop our defense capabilities together, we can buy together to ensure that we have all the capabilities we need while spending efficiently," she said, and added:

"We can act together much better than before to manage or prevent crises, to strengthen our partners, to make our citizens more secure. We are building the Europe of defense on a continental scale in an incredibly inclusive way."

According to her, this was "unimaginable not only 60 years ago - but just six months ago."

"As Nelson Mandela used to say, 'it's always impossible until it's done'. We did it. And this is because today security challenges are too big for any of our member states and we know it. Everyone understands this today. Our citizens are asking for more security and more efficient budgets and they realize that these to things together are only possible if we join forces using the full potential of our European Union," said Mogherini.

There has been talk of "a European army" for several years now, with European Council President Jean Claude Juncker saying in 2016 that creating one was "inevitable" - because it was not very likely that the US would take care...

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