By Nicola Smith - 11th February 2004
Germany is to join an Anglo-French rapid reaction force for combat in jungle, desert and mountain operations.
The defence plan, unveiled yesterday at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, sets out an ambitious strategy for establishing “battle-groups”, reports FT Europe.
The announcement, made just one week before a three-way summit of France, Germany and the UK, signals another shift towards closer cooperation in the defence field.
According to German officials, the closer trilateral defence ties follow on from a deal on structured defence cooperation made between the countries before last December’s EU summit.
“This battle-groups initiative is about taking it forward,” one official told the newspaper.
The battle-groups are reported to be made up of around 1,500 troops, capable of being deployed within 15 days, and able to remain on a mission for up to 30 days with the possibility of extending this to three months.
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