EU seeks to boost defence cooperation

Leaders of the 28-member European Union late on Thursday ended their first day of a two-day summit making a strong commitment to the further development of a credible and effective Common Security and Defence Policy. Speaking at a news conference Thursday midnight, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said that it was the first time since 2008 that EU leaders discussed European defence related to security but also to industry and employment. "The main point of our discussions was to identify ways and means - for those member states that want to take part - to cooperate better around defence assets," Rompuy said. He noted that the summit took decisions on developing next-generation drones, next-generation satellite communication well as on air-to-air refueling, as well as means to better counter cyber attacks. The summit in a statement called on the EU member states to deepen defence cooperation by improving the capacity to conduct missions and operations. The EU today deploys more than 7,000 staff in 12 civilian missions and four military operations, it noted. On his part, President of the European Commission Jos{ Manuel Barroso told the joint news conference that "Europe needs a strong credible common security and defence policy, so that Europe can play its full role on the world stage." He stated that with around 1.5 million jobs and a turnover of 96 billion euro, this is a sector that is very important for the European economy. The EU leaders also took stock on the Banking Union, "and we are all glad that everything is falling into place," said Van Rompuy. They also made significant progress on the economic union, he added. On Friday, the EU leaders will look at foreign policy, including latest developments in Ukraine and also at progress on growth and jobs in Europe.