Brussels, 20.11.2020 The Council approved conclusions on the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) Strategic Review 2020. The review assesses the progress made on PESCO and provides guidance for the next phase (2021-2025) on the overall aim, policy goals, incentives and projects. (Image: Dassault Rafale factory, France). Today, EU Defence Ministers discuss how the EU can become…
Tag: defence
NATO extends Stoltenberg mandate
NATO Allies agreed on March 28, 2019 to extend the mandate of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (60) by a further two years, until 30 September 2022. Congratulations to @jensstoltenberg on his extension as @NATO Secretary General. His exemplary leadership and the support from our Allies shows that together, we are #AlliedStrong and I look forward…
Merkel wishes Brexit on “good terms”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wanted the UK and the European Union to part on good terms. “I care now that we and Britain divorce in a good process so that afterwards we can still work closely together in the areas where we must cooperate – on defense, on domestic security, on policing, on…
Stoltenberg on 'essential' dialog with Russia
“Dialogue can be difficult, but it is also essential and in times of raised tensions, such as now, it is particularly important to keep channels of communication open. At today’s meeting, we had a frank and useful discussion on three key issues: Ukraine, Afghanistan, and transparency and risk reduction. In the case of Ukraine, NATO…
Juncker: EU defence agenda launch
“As you know, the Commission was launching a defence agenda in the recent weeks, and last Wednesday we decided to put into place a European Defence Fund. This Defence Fund is contributing to reduce the inefficiency and the fragmentation costs we are facing dearly” – said the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker at Prague…
EU defence work delivery
The European Union is already delivering concretely on the very ambitious security and defence work, but is also looking beyond the current implementation of decisions, with a new reflection paper looking at future developments for European defence, stressed High Representative Federica Mogherini on the 7th of June 2017 at the presentation of this new document…
Stoltenberg debates NATO with MEPs
Addressing the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Sub-Committee on Security and Defence on Wednesday (3 May 2017), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed closer cooperation between the European Union and the Alliance. He stressed that “cooperation is now the norm, not the exception,” and noted that a strong European defence contributes to fair burden-sharing….
Defence: MEPs to upgrade EDA
Increasing defence cooperation in the EU now depends more upon the political will to make it happen than upon legal considerations, say MEPs in a resolution approved by Parliament on Thursday. They stress that member states can and should use the treaty tools in place to build a truly common defence policy. MEPs want…
Is Pence pessimistic about EU?
While “unwavering” in its support for Nato, vice-president Mike Pence was silent about the European Union at the Munich Security Conference. #MSC2017 VP Pence brings a message from @POTUS @realDonaldTrump to #munich: we will stay strong together #NATO applause in the audience pic.twitter.com/ILk8OJOZCJ — Hendrik Loven (@HendrikLoven) February 18, 2017 In his address to the…
NATO: Mattis shifts accents
NATO HQ: Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis at his press conference read carefully worded statement, with accents on the unity of the Alliance. He also softened the message on budget, expressing belive that there will be no need to ‘moderate’ on the US position, because all the allies understand the importance of defence. Mattis also…