The German and Dutch armies and navies are poised to “merge”, creating the nucleus of the European Union’s longed for pan-EU military force. Pointing to German ministerial statements spelling out the creation of an EU Army as the ultimate goal, critics say Britain’s military will not be able to avoid being sucked in if the country remains within the Union. The German government has revealed that Dutch and German land armies and navies are set to move towards “closer integration”, with two Dutch units already coming under German command. Last month the Dutch 43rd Mechanised Brigade was subsumed into the German 1st Armoured Division, following the takeover of the Dutch 11th Airmobile Brigade by German command last year. The two countries are also already sharing the Netherland’s largest war ship, the Karel Doorman, and aim to merge its two naval powers into one unified navy within the next two years. That leaves the Netherlands with just the 13th Mechanised Brigade to its name, along with special forces and military infrastructure, but the plan is to accelerate towards a merger of these entities within the next few years, Germany’s Sachsische Zeitung confirms. And according to insiders, the Czech Republic has now entered