Germany and France have drawn up plans for closer EU defense cooperation, including a new military HQ and swifter deployment of overseas missions, EU Observer reports.
The ideas were outlined by the two countries’ defense ministers, Ursula Von der Leyen and Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a six-page paper sent to the EU foreign service on Sunday.
According to the source, the EU military missions, such as the Sophia anti-migrant smuggler operation or the Atalanta anti-pirate mission, should in future be commanded out of a joint military HQ instead of rotational command by EU states.
It says EU states should create a new command centre for coordinating medical assistance, a logistics centre for sharing “strategic” assets, such as air-lift capacities, and should share satellite reconnaissance data.