Ursula von der Leyen pushes for EU Army plan following Afghanistan crisis

BRUSSELS boss Ursula von der Leyen has used the Afghan crisis to push her barmy EU army plan.

The chief Eurocrat said the bloc must be able to act independently of Nato and the UN and deploy troops around the world.

She accused leaders of lacking the political will to send soldiers into battle under an EU flag.

The former German defence minister said: “There will be missions where Nato or the UN will not be present but where Europe should be.

“You can have the most advanced forces in the world, but if you are never prepared to use them what use are they?”

Romanian MEP Cristian Terhes fumed: “The EU is not a country and should not have its own army.”

The Commission chief wants a 5,000-strong “entry force” for intervening in future international crises.

In her annual ‘State of the Union’ speech Mrs von der Leyen also bragged the bloc had beaten Britain in the Covid vaccine race.

Glossing over Brussels’ shambolic start to the rollout, she insisted: “A pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint.”