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Speakers of EU parliaments back idea of creating rapid response forces

The speakers praised the EU initiative to have its own military capability to "defend the security of its people, their interests and democratic values"

MADRID, April 23. /TASS/. Speakers of EU parliaments supported the idea of setting up a joint EU rapid response force of 5,000 people, according to a resolution they passed at a conference.

The resolution, which was adopted by the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in the Balearic Islands, stated that it’s necessary to "guarantee sufficient investment" in military capabilities of member states to ensure collective deterrence and defense. The speakers also praised the EU initiative to have its own military capability to "defend the security of its people, their interests and democratic values."

The resolution said this will require the capacity to rapidly deploy up to 5,000 military personnel to respond to various crises. The speakers said that the EU had developed many missions and operations aimed at stabilizing the situation in other countries and neighboring regions.

The idea of creating a joint European army has been brought up for at least the past decade. It gained more urgency during Donald Trump’s tenure as US president, as he made it clear that his country was no longer ready to provide a "defense umbrella" to Europe within NATO. In November 2023, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell announced that the EU would bring its 5,000-strong rapid deployment capacity to full operational readiness by 2025.

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