Common army to battle budgetary crisis?

“Military top brass targets De Crem", Belgium’s Defence Minister,headlines De Standaard. In an internal memo, senior officers deplore “the cumulative effect of a disastrous cocktail of numerous missions abroad, a further salvo of cost-cutting to the tune of 35 million euros, downsizing and the absence of investment credits.” Pieter de Crem wants a smaller high performance army, but according to senior figures in the military, “De Crem has ruined the army’s credibility.” On 4 May, Piet De Crem met with his Dutch counterpart Hans Hillen, who is currently faced with similar budgetary issues. The two ministers discussed “increased collaboration” between the armies of both countries. An opinion piece in De Standard highlights the importance of a European army but notes, which “for the moment, this has only been recognised by smaller countries.” In the meantime, the newspaper argues, more military “integration with the Netherlands could reduce the scope of the problem. We could establish a common navy, or make the Netherlands responsible for the navy.”