German FM calls for building European army

BERLIN, May 5 (Xinhua) -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Monday for accelerated efforts to integrate Europe's armed forces.

The final goal should be a European army, he told a security conference organized by his Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin.

According to German news agency DPA, Steinmeier said he had already discussed concrete matters relating to enhanced military cooperation with his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner.

There was room for broader coordination between the two neighbors in the fields of military transport, helicopter capacity and equipment procurement, he was quoted as saying.

Peter Struck, a former defense minister and SPD floor leader in the German parliament, called the 27 armed forces currently maintained by EU members "an enormous drain" on financial resources.

Proposals put forward by the SPD to pave the way for a joint military force include a common EU air transport command, a council of defense ministers and the creation of an EU military academy.