EU foreign and defence ministers on Monday agreed a security strategy meant to boost the bloc's military clout when war has returned to Europe, establishing a rapid reaction force with up to 5,000 of troops to be swiftly deployed in a crisis.
"The threats are rising and the cost of inaction is clear," the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement, calling the document that sets out European ambitions in defence and security to be reached by 2030 a "guide to action".
Work on the strategy started in 2020, before the pandemic, a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Ukraine war. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, the EU toughened its language on Moscow."The EU needs to be able to protect its citizens and to contribute to international peace and security," the bloc said in a statement.
Germany is ready to provide the core of the EU's new rapid reaction force in 2025, the year it is meant to become fully operational, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in Brussels. The force will replace the existing EU battlegroups that the bloc has had since 2007 but never used. Plans for an overhaul gained traction after European countries struggled to handle the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul in August.
EU leaders are expected to sign off on the security strategy, referred to as the Strategic Compass, at a summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels.Reporting by Sabine Siebold Editing by John Chalmers and Barbara LewisSubscribe to our sustainability newsletter to make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments.
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