EUROPE - A GERMAN MEP has outlined how the EU will push through its plans to build its own army, by encouraging member states to "save money" by handing over control of military affairs. The European Union will persuade other member-states to join Jean-Claude Juncker's plan for a bloc-wide army by grounding it in "economic efficiency". Jo Leinen, a German MEP, dropped the shock revelation yesterday, claiming the policy of national armies "cannot continue" for much longer. It comes as Donald Tusk, the European Council President, plans to set up an EU army by the end of the year to fight back against “destabilisation around Europe”.