Luxembourg: Nine EU member states have agreed to establish a European military force for rapid deployment in times of crisis, an initiative which has won the backing of the UK as it seeks to maintain defence ties after Brexit.
Spearheaded by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the joint enterprise will allow national armed forces across Europe to coordinate and react swiftly together.
Ministers from France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Spain and Portugal signed a letter of intent in Luxembourg.
Since the election of its new government, Italy has backtracked on its initial support, but Rome has not ruled out the country’s future involvement.
Macron had outlined his vision of strategic autonomy for European defence in a keynote Sorbonne speech last September.
The development has caused some anxiety within Nato, where officials are concerned about any duplication of roles and distancing by European nations from the US.
However, Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, who was in Luxembourg for discussions on European security and defence before a summit of the military alliance in Brussels next month, told reporters: “I welcome this initiative as I believe it can strengthen the readiness of forces. We need high readiness that is exactly what Nato is now focusing on.
“I just see this new initiative as something that can complement and actually reinforce the work which is ongoing in Nato to strengthen and increase the readiness of our forces.”
France’s defence minister, Florence Parly, told the newspaper Le Figaro on Sunday: “Defence Europe requires a common strategic culture … The deadlines and decisions in the EU are still much too long compared to the urgency that can arise from a critical situation in a country where Europeans would consider that there is a strong stake for their security.”
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