Brits-Franse ruzie over financiering Europees defensie-agentschap

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The UK has come under fire from France for blocking a move to extend funding for an EU agency driving integration in European defence policy.

At a defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (14 November), London refused to give the green light to the European Defence Agency budget being raised from €22 million in 2007 to €29 million in 2009.

Instead ministers, who had been due to approve the budget for the next three years, gave the go ahead for the 2007 budget only.

The UK defended its move by saying the two-year old agency should give more information about how it intends to spend the money.

But France, which in 1998 signed the far-reaching St Malo defence pact with the UK seen as the initial step towards a common defence policy, strongly criticised London's stance.

"Haggling over €1 million for an agency which will be decisive in providing us with the resources and research means to prepare the future EU defence - that seemed to me a bit of a joke," said French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie, according to French media.

"I indicated that I didn't see the coherence between [prime minister Tony] Blair's statements recalling his commitment to EU defence policy and this very static position," she continued.

London also refused to take part in a common defence research fund which would be run by the EDA and would look into developing new military technology.

The pooling of money - 18 member states plus Norway are taking part - for this is seen as something of a landmark for national governments generally fiercely protective on defence and military issues.

"If Europe is to maintain a defence technological and industrial base, we have got to harness the full capabilities of the enlarged Union," said EDA chief Nick Witney announcing the fund at a press conference on Monday.

Defence ministers also signed off two of the highly mobile EU battle groups which are to be fully operational and ready to deploy to any trouble spots in the world by January.

Meanwhile, the underlying tension between the EU and NATO over their roles in military and defence continued to simmer at the meeting.

Dutch defence minister Henk Kamp complained that his French counterpart had given an introduction during the meeting about citizens expecting security provision from the EU but without hardly mentioning NATO.

"She completely puts the accent on the EU. The Netherlands and other countries have tried to look at this also on the other side."

He went on to say that he himself had reacted with a plea that NATO is the main security provider.