EU: Events in Afghanistan Show Need for Rapid-Reaction Force

Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that the EU governments should move forward with the formation of a rapid-reaction force.

Borrell said in an interview for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published today that the hasty deployment of US forces in Afghanistan as security further deteriorates there "shows the need for the European Union to accelerate its efforts to build a common defense policy."

He lamented the Union's inability to send 6,000 soldiers to secure the Kabul Airport as the US did, hoping that the 27 member countries draw lessons from this experience.

Borrell had said earlier that "what is happening in Afghanistan is a tragedy," promoting the idea of an "initial entry force" of 5,000 soldiers in the hope of avoiding the mistakes that cost the EU major military and economic losses.

Last May, 14 European countries, including Germany and France, proposed the formation of the force in question, which could be supplied with ships and aircraft, to support foreign governments it deems as "democratic" and that may need urgent assistance.