It is a common misconception that EU membership entails a requirement to establish an army or participate in a European military force. For a country like Iceland, which has never had an army, it is important to look carefully at what the EU Treaties actually say.
Is there a common European army?
No, there is no standing "European army". Defence and security are primarily the responsibility of each member state. The EU runs a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), focused mainly on peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and training — and participation in any given operation is always voluntary.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, this cooperation has indeed deepened. The EU has announced plans that increase its focus on defence ("ReArm Europe" / "Readiness 2030") and stood up a Rapid Deployment Capacity of up to 5,000 troops — though manning it is voluntary for member states.
These plans are about making it easier for member states that wish to do so to fund and build up their defences; they do not create a standing army under centralised EU command. The largest part consists of relaxing the EU's deficit and debt criteria, allowing member states to spend more on their own defence. Member states can also apply for joint loans (SAFE) that they repay themselves. So this is primarily about the states' own spending — not a common military force funded by fixed contributions to the EU's coffers.
Each country decides how it organises its own defence and whether to contribute personnel to EU missions. Since Iceland has no army, we would by definition not be asked to provide soldiers. We could, however, contribute civilian specialists in rescue, peacekeeping, or reconstruction — as we already do today — if we so choose. No member state has ever been forced to send troops into an operation against its will.
Iceland's special position and neutral states
The EU Treaties clearly accommodate countries with defence policies that differ from the majority. Austria and Ireland, for example, are constitutionally neutral and remain outside military alliances.
Ireland is a particularly relevant precedent. When the Lisbon Treaty was being debated, the Irish had serious concerns about the creation of a European army and the introduction of conscription. To remove all doubt, they secured a specific protocol attached to the EU Treaties (Protocol on the concerns of the Irish people). It states explicitly that the Treaties entail neither the creation of a European army nor the introduction of conscription, and have no effect on Ireland's military neutrality. Protocols attached to the EU Treaties carry the same legal force as the Treaties themselves and cannot be amended without the consent of all member states.
The Irish protocol should be sufficient to address concerns at home, but the precedent shows that if it were deemed necessary, it would very likely be possible to secure a specific protocol regarding Iceland's military-free status in our accession treaty.
It is also worth noting that before joining the EU, Iceland's constitution would need to be amended. In the same process, a prohibition on conscription could be added to the constitution — as was proposed in the Constitutional Council's draft (Article 31). Conscription is, after all, always a national decision: the EU members that have reintroduced it (e.g. Sweden and Lithuania) did so on their own terms, not at the EU's behest. The accession treaty itself — with whatever special provisions were negotiated — would then be put to the people in a referendum.
NATO and mutual assistance
The Treaties' mutual-defence clause (Article 42(7) TEU) is sometimes raised: if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the others are obliged to assist it "by all the means in their power". But this entails neither conscription nor automatic participation in war — each state decides for itself what assistance it provides — and the clause explicitly states that it "shall not prejudice the specific character" of neutral states' defence policy, and that commitments must remain consistent with NATO.
For most EU member states, including Iceland, NATO is the foundation of their defence. The EU Treaties explicitly recognise that NATO is the basis of collective defence for those states that are members. Joining the EU would change nothing about our current security arrangements: we are in NATO without having our own army, and exactly the same arrangement would apply if we were also in the EU.
In short: The EU is not a military alliance and cannot decide to create an army without the unanimous consent of all member states (where Iceland would have a veto). Although the EU's defence cooperation has grown in recent years, none of this changes that. As an EU member, Iceland would be the only country without an army. We would maintain our security ties through NATO and would receive the same legal protections to safeguard our special status as neutral states have received.
Sources and further reading:
- To remove all doubt about the implications of the Lisbon Treaty, a specific legal protocol was adopted and is now permanently attached to the EU Treaties. Article 3 of the protocol states explicitly that the EU requires neither the creation of a European army nor conscription, and fully respects the traditional neutrality of states such as Ireland. See the Protocol in the Official Journal of the EU (L 60, 2013).
- Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) governs EU defence cooperation. It states clearly that EU policy shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain member states, and that NATO shall remain the foundation of collective defence for its members. The same article (paragraph 7) contains the states' mutual aid-and-assistance commitment. See Article 42 TEU on Eur-Lex.
- The European External Action Service (EEAS) website describes how the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) works in practice. Operations consist mainly of peacekeeping beyond EU borders, and participation is entirely at the discretion of each member state. See the CSDP overview on the EEAS website.
- The EU's heightened focus on defence after 2022 is reflected in the "ReArm Europe" / "Readiness 2030" plan (presented in March 2025), which centres on funding and capability-building by the member states themselves. See the Commission's white paper on Readiness 2030.
- The EU's Rapid Deployment Capacity (up to 5,000 troops) became operational in 2025 and is assembled from the member states' voluntary contributions. See the EEAS announcement on the Rapid Deployment Capacity.