Nine EU Members To Join Joint Military Intervention Force

Nine European Union (EU) member states will sign a formal agreement to create a joint military intervention force on June 25.

According to a report by AFP, France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly told the French newspaper Figaro that her country, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Spain and Portugal are to sign a letter of intent to formalize European Intervention Initiative, designed to deploy and coordinate forces rapidly to deal with crises around the world.

According to a source close to a French top official, cited by the AFP, the goal of the initiative is "joint planning work on crisis scenarios that could potentially threaten European security."

"This is clearly an initiative that allows for the association of some non-EU states. The UK has been very keen because it wants to maintain cooperation with Europe beyond bilateral ties," the French top military official told the newspaper.

The initiative is expected to aid joint planning on events such as natural disasters, crisis intervention or the evacuation of citizens from hot spots.