Europe's long road in search of common defense
(Reuters) - With Britain set to leave the European Union, hopes have risen in Paris and Berlin for the realization of a nearly 70-year-old ambition to coordinate European defense policy. Britain blocked such plans in recent years, fearing an EU army, but France and Germany have come forward with new proposals. Here is a chronology of Europe's search for common defense. 1949 - The United States, Canada and European countries set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a U.S.-led military alliance. 1950 - The European Defense Community is proposed as a European alternative to NATO to incorporate West Germany and create a European army, a joint budget and shared arms. 1954 - The French parliament rejects the European Army plan. Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Britain form the Western European Union, a common defense group with a shared air force and joint command. 1993 - The EU's Maastricht Treaty redefines European integration and introduces a Common Foreign and Security Policy as one of its goals, allowing European governments to take joint action in foreign policy. 1998 - Britain and France agree to common defense in the Saint-Malo Declaration, and London pledges to play a central role in the security and defense policy of the European Union. 2003 - The European Union launches its first independent military mission outside of Europe, Operation Artemis, with United Nations backing, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2004 - The European Defense Agency is formed to help EU governments develop their military capabilities. 2007 - Rapid-reaction forces of about 1,500 soldiers, called EU Battlegroups, are formed under control of the Council of the European Union. 2009 - The EU's Lisbon Treaty strengthens the Common Foreign and Security Policy, creating an EU foreign policy chief. 2016 - France and Germany make fresh proposals to integrate European defense policy. EU leaders are set to meet to consider the new policies in December. (Reporting by Marilyn Haigh; editing by Mark Heinrich)
