Countries split on plan to create a separate joint European army

NewsWorldEuropeCountries split on plan to create a separate joint European armyNATO chief Mark Rutte has dismissed calls for a European armySergio Goncalves Wednesday 15 April 2026 10:16 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2957996","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/european-army-portugal-spain-trump-b2957996.html","title":"Countries split on plan to create a separate joint European army"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-10501","index":0}Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (2L) and Angola's President Joao Lourenco (L) review the troops at Belem Palace in Lisbon, on July 25, 2025 (AFP/Getty)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Europe","regSource...