Britain will oppose anything resembling an EU army, its defence minister says, amid a push in the European Union for more military co-operation following British voters' shock decision to leave the bloc.
"We are leaving the EU, but we remain committed to the security of Europe," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said in Bratislava ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts.
"Europe needs to step up to the challenges of terrorism and of migration. But we're going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army or EU army headquarters," he added.
Britain, which has long been averse to military integration, will have a say in EU matters until it leaves the bloc - a process expected to take years.
Fallon said "a number" of other member states also believe that an EU army "cuts across the sovereignty of individual nation states."
He also argued that it would "undermine" the NATO military alliance, which consists of 22 EU member states in addition to Albania, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Turkey and the United States.
"NATO must remain the cornerstone of our defence and the defence of Europe," he said. "We agree Europe needs to do more ... But simply duplicating or undermining NATO is the wrong way to do it."
Germany and France have led the push for a strengthened military role for the EU, with their plans including the creation of a headquarters for the bloc's missions.
But an army is not foreseen, the two countries' defence ministers insisted in Bratislava.
"This is not a step in the direction of a European army, to the contrary: this is about better integrating the different strengths of European countries, so that we can together act faster," Germany's Ursula von der Leyen said, listing the creation of a European mobile hospital or logistical hub as potential ideas.
"We think we will be able to achieve significant progress before the end of the year," France's Jean-Yves Le Drian added.
Under the EU's Lisbon treaty, a group of member states can strengthen its collaboration on military matters though a so-called permanent structured co-operation.
Britain could prevent such an approach only by winning support from other EU countries, as a permanent structured cooperation can be set up through a majority vote.
