Austerity forces Europeans to step up defence links

(BRUSSELS) - A major Franco-British defence cooperation deal highlights efforts in Europe to share military capabilities at a time of biting budget cuts, but visions of a European army remain a distant dream.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi revived last week the idea of mobilising European armies under a single flag, arguing that it would enable cash-strapped governments to cut their military spending in half.

"It is not just a question of savings. By combining military forces, Europe can have a military force capable of competing with those of big powers such as the United States, Russia and China," he said after an EU summit in Brussels.

But London made it clear that its deal with France -- sharing aircraft carriers and nuclear testing facilities as well as creating a joint rapid reaction force -- did not mean it was giving up its military independence.

"Partnership -- yes. But giving away sovereignty -- no" is how British Prime Minister David Cameron has summed up the arrangement.

The unprecedented cooperation deal between the continent's main military powers comes at a time of austerity across the European Union following the Greek debt crisis.

European governments have cut back on defence spending since the end of the Cold War, a trend that has worried the continent's powerful ally, the United State.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned in February that "demilitarisation" in Europe had become "an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st."

French Defence Minister Herve Morin also sounded an alarm after a meeting with EU counterparts in September, warning that extreme budget cuts could transform Europe into a "protectorate" under a Chinese-American "dominion."

France and Britain are reducing their budgets, but they are among the few countries that respect the minimum defence spending required of NATO members: two percent of gross national product. Of 28 NATO countries, 21 are EU members.

Berlusconi said that military cooperation would be discussed at the next summit of EU leaders on December 16-17.

But his vision of a European army faces obstacles, a major one being that it would require amending the EU's Lisbon treaty, which states that NATO is in charge of the continent's collective defence.

For now, Europeans are looking at how they can combine military capabilities.

Europeans could seize on the budget cuts as "an opportunity" to enhance cooperation "without giving up their national sovereignty," said Jean-Pierre Maulny, an expert at the Paris-based Institute of International and Strategic Relations think-tank.

EU foreign and security policy chief Catherine Ashton has been tasked by governments to explore ways of enhancing military cooperation and report her findings to defence ministers on December 9.

After meeting with defence counterparts in Ghent, Belgium, on September 24, Morin said European governments should examine which capacities they want to keep sovereign and which they were prepared to share, he said.

Belgian Defence Minister Pieter De Crem cited as a good example of cooperation an agreement this summer between Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands to pool 200 transport aircraft under a single command.

A rocky history of Anglo-French ties