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Europe should create a civilian and military crisis operations HQ under EU command, according to a report by center-right MEPs. The proposal, contained in a policy paper published on Tuesday (3 September) by deputies from the European People’s Party, the largest group in the assembly, said EU “heads of state and government have to start building standby forces under Union command.” It called for EU leaders to commit themselves to defining the union’s security interests, prioritizing its strategic objectives and linking these with operational deployments. They said this should include a definition of European defense interests and its geographical priority...

The EU needs to do more for international security, France and Germany have said, as they call for improved battle groups and the use of drones in civilian airspace.In a joint letter and ideas paper, dated Friday (26 July), the foreign ministers of both countries say that amid “asymmetrical threats”, the EU needs to “assume increased responsibility for international peace and security.” They add that they are committed to making a planned EU defense summit in December a “success” with “tangible results.” Among the results they are hoping for is agreement on improved “operational effectiveness” of EU battle groups, clusters...

Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton has described Ireland’s position on military neutrality as “narcissistic”, but conceded it would be difficult for Fine Gael to win public support for a major shift in defense policy. A report on Ireland by one of France’s main EU think tanks, due to be published today, quotes Creighton saying she is “very supportive” of Ireland joining common European defense, but doesn’t believe her party could gain “political traction for that in the short term”. … The report by Notre Europe (Institut Jacques Delors), published to mark the 40th anniversary of Ireland’s EU accession, concludes...

US Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Germany this week in an effort to strengthen trans-Atlantic ties. Global politics have come to a standstill in recent years, with the United States unwilling to show leadership and Europe and other major powers unable to fill the vacuum. … You would think it were high time for Obama to jump back into the saddle before he gets reduced to a lame-duck status. But no matter how many blinding smiles the notoriously perky Biden flashes in Berlin and Munich, this is probably too much to expect. Of course, this gives rise to the...

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged EU countries to spend more on defense despite the economic crisis or risk losing US solidarity. He said in a foreword to the alliance’s report on 2012, out on Thursday (31 January), that: “If current defense spending trends were to continue, that would limit the practical ability of NATO’s European nations to work together with their North American allies. But it would also risk weakening the political support for our alliance in the United States.” He added NATO is still “the most important military power in the world.” But he also warned: “The...

Five leading EU countries, but not the UK, have said the Union needs a new military “structure” to manage overseas operations. The foreign and defense ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain issued the call in a joint communiqué after a meeting in Paris on Thursday (15 November). The paper says: “We are convinced that the EU must set up, within a framework yet to be defined, true civilian-military structures to plan and conduct missions and operations.” … The communiqué also calls for more “pooling and sharing” of EU defense hardware in the context of crisis-related budget cuts. It...

Baroness Ashton is a key ally in a French plot to create a Brussels military headquarters that will build on existing European Union military missions. Lady Ashton, the EU foreign minister, has signaled to Paris she will go against British opposition if France can win other allies this winter, a senior French defense ministry source has told the Daily Telegraph. … The French effectively view the launch of new EU military missions as a Trojan horse for a European military headquarters and France will mount a major offensive in mid-2014 that could see it back treaty change to scrap national...

European defense ministers endorsed plans on Thursday (22 March) to develop air-to-air refueling capabilities and field hospitals in a bid to reduce military costs. … Collectively, the EU spends some €200 billion on defense annually, but austerity measures are forcing ministers to rethink how to best use assets and upgrade capability. The past decade has seen at least a 15 percent drop in EU defense budgets. … Gaps in the EU military were already identified in Afghanistan. The former US defense minister Robert Gates last year said Europe's lack of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets rendered even Europe's most advanced...