Akkoord bereikt over Europese defensie (en)

On the eve of historical negotiations to finalise the EU's Constitution, the three major European defence players - Britain, Germany and France - have finally put their differences aside to reach agreement on the military capabilities of the EU.

The agreement, reached on the evening of 11 December, says that the European Union will have its own military planning cell, but this will only be used as a last resort and will not become a fully-fledged military headquarters. Washington had previously expressed concerns, shared by the United Kingdom, that the new military arm of the EU could undermine NATO.

The deal indicates that, when carrying out military operations, the EU will always in the first instance consider using NATO facilities. If that is not appropriate, then the EU will resort to using the existing facilities in member states. Only as a last resort will it set up a planning cell to carry out an operation.

As a further concession to Washington, the EU has agreed that NATO can have a permanent liaison office at EU military headquarters in Brussels. In return, the EU will establish a permanent presence at NATO's military planning headquarters at Mons in Belgium.

Commenting on the agreement, the official spokesman of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "We believe this arrangement is good for NATO and good for European defence."

Secretary-General George Robertson also endorsed the deal, saying, "NATO countries needed to know there would be no permanent operational planning staff."

The compromise deal will now be discussed by all EU governments today (12 December) in the context of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) being held in Brussels. The deal is not part of the new EU Constitution, but it has been agreed as part of an overall package.