The European Union has taken a major step towards having its own army after the President of the European Commission set out plans to organise a "common military force" across the continent.
"From an economic point of view bringing together our military resources could be clearly justified," he said.
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Juncker added that any new force would "complement" Nato and would not threaten the EU's transatlantic relations.
The proposals, echoing a plan put forward this week by France and Germany, "are part of a broader attempt to rally EU nations after Britain's vote to leave the bloc and to capitalise on its departure", with London having long opposed the idea of a single European army, says Reuters.
After terror attacks in France, Belgium and Germany, EU leaders have identified security as a major concern among citizens.
However, with Europe's biggest-spending military power set to leave, many in Brussels are concerned that cuts in defence spending will limit the bloc's ability to run peace-keeping missions, disaster relief and counter-terrorism operations at home and abroad.
EU officials have stressed these proposals will not mean all soldiers will wear the same uniform but rather involve increased co-operation that could "revive long-running efforts to reduce reliance on the US" and save member states "up to €100bn a year", reports Reuters.
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