BRUSSELS: The European Union is considering a joint military force of up to 5,000 troops by 2025 to intervene in a range of crises and without relying on the United States, according to a draft plan.
The “EU Rapid Deployment Capacity” should be made up of land, sea and air components that could be swapped in and out of any standing force, depending on the crisis, according to the confidential 28-page document dated on November 9 and seen by Reuters.
EU foreign and defence ministers began debating the plan on Monday evening in Brussels and continued on Tuesday, aiming to settle on a final document by March next year.
Italy and France, two of the EU’s military powers, welcomed the draft. The view of Germany’s incoming federal coalition government, expected soon, will prove critical.
“The document combines a high level of ambition but also makes concrete and operational proposals. It’s a good balance,” French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly told reporters. Her Italian counterpart, Lorenzo Guerini, said it would also be complementary to Nato and strengthen transatlantic ties.
Two decades after EU leaders first agreed to set up a 50,000-60,000-strong force but failed to make it operational, the draft strategy by the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is the most concrete effort to create a standalone military force that does not rely on US assets.
— Reuters
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