EU plans 'rapid response' reaction force for interventions
Sept 5, 2021 2:33:55 GMT -5
Post by ShofarSoGood on Sept 5, 2021 2:33:55 GMT -5
EU plans 'rapid response' reaction force for military interventions following the fall of Afghanistan and chaotic US-led evacuation
EU leaders are debating a 5,000 strong force from willing countries in the bloc
Calls have grown in the US and Europe for stronger EU military capabilities
But some are resistant over fears of an EU army strengthening the 'superstate'
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 03:09 EDT, 3 September 2021 | UPDATED: 11:11 EDT, 3 September 2021
The EU is planning a 5,000 strong 'rapid response' reaction force for military interventions in the wake of the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan.
Calls have grown for the 27-nation bloc to develop its own joint military capability to respond quickly to crises in the wake of the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport after the Taliban seized power.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: 'Afghanistan has shown that deficiencies in our strategic autonomy come with a price and that the only way forward is to combine our forces and strengthen not only our capacity but also our will to act.
The EU is planning a 5,000 strong 'rapid response' reaction force for military interventions in the wake of the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan. Pictured: Taliban fighters in Kabul
'If we want to be able to act autonomously and not be dependent on the choices made by others, even if these others are our friends and allies, then we have to develop our own capacities.'
Among the propositions is a plan, first aired in May, to set up a 5,000-strong force as part of a review of the EU's overall strategy due to be presented in draft form in November.
But the proposal is yet to gain EU-wide support, and there are major doubts over whether there is the political will to engage such a force. The bloc, for instance, never used a system of so-called battlegroups it set up in 2007.
A rapid reaction force is seen as more likely now that Britain has exited the bloc.
Continued at link
EU leaders are debating a 5,000 strong force from willing countries in the bloc
Calls have grown in the US and Europe for stronger EU military capabilities
But some are resistant over fears of an EU army strengthening the 'superstate'
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 03:09 EDT, 3 September 2021 | UPDATED: 11:11 EDT, 3 September 2021
The EU is planning a 5,000 strong 'rapid response' reaction force for military interventions in the wake of the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan.
Calls have grown for the 27-nation bloc to develop its own joint military capability to respond quickly to crises in the wake of the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport after the Taliban seized power.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: 'Afghanistan has shown that deficiencies in our strategic autonomy come with a price and that the only way forward is to combine our forces and strengthen not only our capacity but also our will to act.
The EU is planning a 5,000 strong 'rapid response' reaction force for military interventions in the wake of the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan. Pictured: Taliban fighters in Kabul
'If we want to be able to act autonomously and not be dependent on the choices made by others, even if these others are our friends and allies, then we have to develop our own capacities.'
Among the propositions is a plan, first aired in May, to set up a 5,000-strong force as part of a review of the EU's overall strategy due to be presented in draft form in November.
But the proposal is yet to gain EU-wide support, and there are major doubts over whether there is the political will to engage such a force. The bloc, for instance, never used a system of so-called battlegroups it set up in 2007.
A rapid reaction force is seen as more likely now that Britain has exited the bloc.
Continued at link