EU defence pact

[northernladyuk]

How does being outside the EU protect Britain from the EU army ?

Are they there to only attack countries in the EU

It's all part of the secret EUSSR plan to introduce martial law and round up good Englishmen.

First they came for the straight bananas...

[meridian]

" long blocked by Britain"

"British officials have been pressing for third country involvement"

Have cake and eat it?

[BrilloPad]

FTFY

Since when has the UK left Scotland.

Stop posting bollx - pooper got a semi reading that....

[WTFH]

We have Scotland has nukes.....

FTFY

[BrilloPad]

How does being outside the EU protect Britain from the EU army ?

Are they there to only attack countries in the EU

We have nukes.....

[WTFH]

British defence investment is being redirected into torpedo boats to sink enemy fishing vessels.

Brexit news: Tory peer calls on UK to use torpedo boats to protect waters | UK | News | Express.co.uk

KUATB

[BlasterBates]

How does being outside the EU protect Britain from the EU army ?

Are they there to only attack countries in the EU

[northernladyuk]

British defence investment is being redirected into torpedo boats to sink enemy fishing vessels.

Brexit news: Tory peer calls on UK to use torpedo boats to protect waters | UK | News | Express.co.uk

[WTFH]

Probably a very good move, wanting to distance themselves from Trump and where he will end up taking NATO.

[original PM]

Britain may be able to join in, but only on an exceptional basis if it provides substantial funds and expertise.

So they want us to provide consultancy...

and pay them for the privilege?

That's not how it works.

[BlasterBates]

UK government officials drawing up plans to join the EU army after Brexit

[Troll]

RUSSELS, Nov 13 (Reuters) - France, Germany and 20 other EU governments are set to sign a defence pact on Monday they hope marks a new era of European military integration to cement unity after Britain's decision to quit the bloc.

In Europe's latest attempt to lessen its reliance on the United States, the 22 governments will create a formal club that should give the European Union a more coherent role in tackling international crises.

"We've never come this far before," said a senior EU official said of EU defence integration efforts that date back to a failed bid in the 1950s. "We are in a new situation."

The election of pro-European Emmanuel Macron as France's president and warnings by U.S. President Donald Trump that European allies must pay more towards their security have propelled the project forward, diplomats said.

European Union foreign and defence ministers are expected to sign the pact at around 1030 GMT on Monday in Brussels, and EU leaders to back it December to make it EU law.

A system to spot weaknesses across EU armed forces, in coordination with U.S.-led NATO, is due to start in a pilot stage, while a multi-billion-euro EU fund to support the pact is still under negotiation.

Long blocked by Britain, which feared the creation of an EU army, defence integration was revived by France and Germany after Britons voted to leave the EU in June 2016.

It follows years of spending cuts that have left European military forces short of vital assets.

They struggled in military and humanitarian missions in the Balkans, Libya and in Africa over the past 20 years and were caught off guard by Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Aside from Denmark, which has opted out of all EU defence, only Austria, Poland, Ireland and Malta have yet to decide whether to join the pact.

London is not part of the initiative but British officials have been pressing for third country involvement. Britain's aerospace industry and its biggest defence firm BAE Systems (LSE: BA.L - news) fear losing out, diplomats said.

Britain may be able to join in, but only on an exceptional basis if it provides substantial funds and expertise.