A group of European defence ministers are pushing ahead with joint defence projects as part of broader effort at deeper military cooperation.
Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, described the meeting among the ministers in Brussels on Tuesday (7 March) as “historic”.
The ministers signed off on some 17 collaborative projects, part financed by the EU budget, to create a so-called Permanent Structured Cooperation pact.
Ministers from 25 EU states had last December agreed to move forward on the plans with an overall aim to develop defence capabilities for EU military operations.
Tuesday’s get together in Brussels was the first such formal defence meeting. The United Kingdom, Denmark, and Malta are not taking part.
Lees verder op euobserver.com