Berlin - 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.

The foreign minister said the Lisbon treaty on reforming the European Union allowed for individual members or groups to adopt a fast-track position on matters of defence and foreign policy.

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 neighbours in the fields of military transport, helicopter capacity and equipment procurement, he said.

Peter Struck, a former defence 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 defence ministers and the creation of an EU military academy. (dpa)