Key States Sign Off On Joint Military Intervention

Nine different states within the European Union have signed off on a joint military intervention force, which is an initiative that is strongly backed by the United Kingdom. They have agreed, despite Brexit, that the UK will still be able to participate in the intervention force. The aim of this initiative was the form a general European military force, which can be utilized for rapid deployment when there are significant times of distress or crisis.

The United Kingdom are currently trying their best to keep as many defence ties with the European Union as possible during the aftermath of Brexit. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is pushing this campaign forward however he can as he believes it will allow Europe to effectively coordinate themselves to any future attack.

So far the ministers from Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands have put forward their letter of intent to Luxembourg last Monday. These are the nine key states that have already signed off on the agreement for joint military intervention across the EU.

Italy, who initially favoured this decision, have since backtracked after they elected a new minister in their government. However, Rome are making it explicitly clear that they are not shying away from the organisation in total and can see themselves being involved in it in the future.

There has been talks of this development causing tensions with Nato, however their secretary general, namely Jens Stoltenberg has frequently told reporters when asked, that “I welcome this initiative as I believe it can strengthen the readiness of forces. We need high readiness that is exactly what Nato is now focusing on.”

So the idea that it will cause a disruption to Nato seems unlikely. She continues “I just see this new initiative as something that can complement and actually reinforce the work which is ongoing in Nato to strengthened and increasing the readiness of our forces.”.

The current French defence minister, Florence Parly has been outspoken in his support for the venture and its bright future. To a news outlet he talked about why this move is vital in securing the safety of the EU. “Defence Europe requires a common strategic culture … The deadlines and decisions in the EU are still much too long compared to the urgency that can arise from a critical situation in a country where Europeans would consider that there is a strong stake for their security.”

We must now wait for a final decision are more states are given the time to sign off on this issue. Thankfully for the United Kingdom, the French minister is advocating for the UK’s importance in this whole process and states that the UK is key to ensuring this ventures future success.