Fleet of drones to appear in Europe

[Baluarte]

Fleet of drones to appear in Europe as EU leaders adopt new defense program to strengthen NATO

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_1...hen-NATO-7693/



The 28 European Union leaders gathered in Brussels for their first summit dedicated to defense since 2008, to find ways how to boost military capabilities at a time when budgets are under intense pressure. The leaders approved joint EU development of drones and in-flight refuelling aircraft, satellites and cyber-defense, while the UK opposed this joint army. EU leaders said drone research would start next year. A fleet of drones, all nationally managed, is eyed for 2025.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he agreed with cooperation but could not accept a separate EU military force.
"It makes sense for nation states to cooperate over matters of defence to keep us all safer... but it is not right for the EU to have capabilities, armies, air forces and the rest of it," Cameron said as he arrived.

Britain insists its armed forces must remain strictly under national control, operating through NATO, not the EU, to ensure European security.
Other EU leaders highlighted the benefits of cooperation rather than the drawbacks.

NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who attended the summit's defence session, said he wanted to see EU leaders commit to do more, citing the pressing need for drones and in-flight refuelling aircraft.

"If European nations invest more in military capabilities, they will also make stronger contributions to NATO," Rasmussen said.
"NATO is and will remain the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security and I don't see any contradiction between strengthened defence in Europe and a strong NATO," he said.

Merkel highlighted the importance of pooling armament capabilities and coordinating defence policy.

On foreign and security policy, "Europe can work much closer together," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"We can pool our armament activities but above all, we must also have a coordinated policy," Merkel said.

French President Francois Hollande suggested that Europeans could work together on building specific military equipment such as drones.
Hollande, a proponent of a more active EU defense policy, said Cameron’s concerns were unfounded.

"There was never any plan for the European Union to buy military equipment and field military forces," Hollande said. "It’s very easy to claim victories by making claims ahead of European summits."

Francois Hollande also suggested the idea of an EU emergency fund for military operations.

France has sent troops to intervene in the conflict in the Central African Republic, after a mission this year to Mali that cost the country an estimated 650 million euros (889 million dollars).

Hollande said he would seek Friday for the current French intervention to be turned into an EU mission, which could pave the way for financing from the bloc.
Led by Britain and France, many EU members play an important role in NATO, which the US set up to rally its European allies against the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

As the EU has gradually acquired more powers from national governments - a process speeded up by the economic crisis - there have been increasing calls that it establish a common defence policy.

In 2010, the EU launched the European External Action Service, its diplomatic arm, which has quickly established a global presence with a voice in key dossiers, such as Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

It also has an embryonic Common Security and Defence Policy and a European Defence Agency tasked to promote military cooperation.

The EU has mounted limited joint military operations, such as anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa, where it works alongside a similar NATO force.


Voice of Russia, AFP

[Teyrn]

Is the Beast rearing its horns on both sides of the Atlantic?

[Petros Houhoulis]

Britain insists its armed forces must remain strictly under national control, operating through NATO, not the EU, to ensure European security.

Get the fuck out of the E.U. maggots!