 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
France trumpets EU defences, key plank for NATO future
Brussels (AFP) Nov 10, 2008 French Defence Minister Herve Morin trumpeted Monday new progress made in boosting the European Union's military capacities, a key condition for France to fully reintegrate into NATO. "I can say, that as of November 10... we have already made substantial and considerable progress, probably as much as we have seen in 10 years," he said, after hosting EU defence talks in Brussels. He said that the ministers had signed a raft of declarations and letters of intent, including deals on leasing transport aircraft, demining, military satellite observation and training schemes. "This is a decisive step in the relaunch of European security and defence policy," Morin, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency until the end of the year, told reporters. "We put all these proposals, without exception, on the table about a year ago," Morin said. "Amid general scepticism, I was told that we would have little progress made in terms of European defence" capacities. The minister did not say whether the progress would be enough for France to return to the NATO military command fold, noting that EU and NATO leaders still had to discuss European defence issues at summits in December and April. France is expected to announce its intent to return fully into NATO at the military alliance's summit in Strasbourg and Kehl in April, but it has made the move conditional on Europe's defence capacities being strengthened. France was a founder member of NATO, but then president Charles de Gaulle pulled out of the alliance's integrated military command in 1966. The split developed over many years, as successive French governments became increasingly dissatisfied with what they perceived as Anglo-American domination of the command structure and insufficient French influence. France now wants to ensure that Europe can stand alone if it must. Related Links Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Rice, Lavrov hold direct talks on US-Russia relations
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (AFP) Nov 8, 2008US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spent over an hour Saturday in direct talks covering the military superpowers' row over their respective missile defence plans. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
