The defense ministers of the nine countries of the European Union, including Germany, Britain and France, announced the creation of a joint European response force that will allow London to provide military support to Brussels and after the withdrawal from the European Union. A corresponding agreement of intent was signed in Luxembourg.

The initiative is implemented at the suggestion of French President Emmanuel Macron, who in his speech in September last year announced the need to create an autonomous defense force in Europe that can act without the support of NATO and the United States. The task of the coalition forces will include prompt response to crises near European borders.

"We are convinced" that Europe must be "strong, capable of more, ready to protect us and our sovereignty," emphasized France's Minister of the Armed Forces Florance Parley.

The proposed format of cooperation differs from "permanent structural cooperation" - Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), to which in November 2017 23 countries of the European Union. The latter was not supported by Denmark, Ireland, Malta, Portugal and the United Kingdom, intending to leave the EU in March 2019. In this regard, the creation of a European response force was particularly insisted on by London, interested in "maintaining cooperation with Europe" in a format that "transcends bilateral relations".

Source: DW.