GETTY EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

According to a new foreign policy document from the Brussels-based institution to be handed to EU leaders next week, a "credible European defence" is also essential to preserve good relations with the US. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini's Global Strategy document states that "as Europeans we must take greater responsibility for our security".

The white paper adds: "While NATO exists to defend its members — most of which are European — from external attack, Europeans must be better equipped, trained and organised to contribute decisively to such collective efforts, as well as to act autonomously if and when necessary. "A more credible European defence is essential also for the sake of a healthy transatlantic partnership with the United States." While it stresses that "NATO remains the primary framework for most member states", it goes on to urge EU members to "channel a sufficient level of expenditure to defence".

NATO training exercises Wed, June 8, 2016 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 26 Polish troops land with parachutes at the military compound near Torun, central Poland as part of the NATO Anaconda-16 military exercise

The document continues: “We live in times of existential crisis, within and beyond the European Union. “Our Union is under threat. Our European project, which has brought unprecedented peace, prosperity and democracy, is being questioned. “To the east, the European security order has been violated, while terrorism and violence plague North Africa and the Middle East, as well as Europe itself. “A fragile world calls for a more confident and responsible European Union, it calls for an outward- and forward-looking European foreign and security policy.”

GETTY The warning of a European army was at the core of the Brexit campaign

The white paper will be seized on by Eurosceptics as proof of a plot to set up an EU army - a notion that has been widely dismissed by diplomats in Brussels and London. The warning of a European army was at the core of the Brexit campaign and became a hot topic with both sides trading blows over the truth of claims Brussels wanted to create a NATO-style organisation.

GETTY The latest EU policy document calls for joint working on matters of defence

America subsidises European defence by vastly outspending all other NATO members and the EU believes a stronger continental force would take the pressure off the Pentagon. But while the latest EU policy document calls for joint working on matters of defence, it stops short of explicitly calling for the creation of an EU army, which would require treaty change.