Angela Merkel has backed Emmanuel Macron’s call for the creation of a European army, using a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to make a passionate appeal for closer defence co-operation between EU member states.

“We should work on the vision of one day creating a real European army,” the German chancellor said, to boos from Eurosceptic MEPs and cheers from her political allies. “I’m saying this in full awareness of the developments of the last few years,” she said, in an apparent reference to the election of US president Donald Trump and his avowed “America First” stance.

Her speech echoed comments by the French president last week, in which he called for a “true European army”, saying Europe needed to defend itself without having to rely wholly on the US.