A single standing EU army in lieu of Europe’s largely irrelevant and inefficient national armed forces, with a budget of around 1% of EU GDP – some €130 billion – would instantly become the world’s second leading military force, after the US, in terms of resources and, one would hope, capabilities. Assuming a flat rate of national contributions to the federal budget, Greece, for example, would shed 2-3 precious percentage points from its public deficit.