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Britain backs French plan for European defence force

Britain is backing a French plan to create a European military intervention force as a way to maintain strong defence ties with the EU after Brexit, a minister told AFP on Saturday.

Published: 5 May 2018 12:04 CEST
Updated: 5 May 2018 16:01 CEST
Britain backs French plan for European defence force
French Defence Minister Florence Parly said in February the planned force would be able to "respond to a threat in the EU's immediate neighbourhood. Photo: Eric Feferberg/AFP

British junior defence minister Frederick Curzon said London was “very keen to support” French President Emmanuel Macron's plan for a force that could be deployed rapidly to deal with crises.

The force, known as the European Intervention Initiative, would be separate from other EU defence cooperation, meaning there would be no obstacle to Britain taking part after it leaves the bloc.

“We're very keen to support President Macron in this initiative,” Curzon told AFP as he arrived for a meeting of EU defence ministers in Sofia.

“We look forward to sitting down with our French colleagues to work through the ideas that they have formulated for a more efficient and joined up security and defence system across Europe. We think it has a real part to play.”

Twenty-five EU countries signed a major defence pact in December, agreeing to cooperate on various military projects, but it is not clear whether Britain would be allowed to take part in any of them after it leaves the bloc.

London has always resisted moves to create anything resembling an “EU army” but it has also stressed it wants to continue to have close security ties with the EU after Brexit.

Curzon said the intervention initiative could play an important role in this.

“It certainly will help to achieve what we are looking for, which is a deep and special partnership with our European colleagues in defence and security,” he said.

Small and decisive

The EU this week announced plans to spend nearly €20 billion on defence in its budget for 2021-2027, most of which will go on research and developing new military technologies for the bloc.

But December's defence cooperation agreement, known by the acronym PESCO, did not include plans for an intervention force.

The EU has had four multinational military “battlegroups” since 2007, but political disagreements have meant the troops have never been deployed.

Paris hopes that by focusing on a smaller group of countries its new initiative will be able to take act more decisively, freed from the burdens that sometimes hamper action by the 28-member EU and 29-member NATO.

“The initiative is a way of cooperating between countries with the right operational or support capacities and which are willing to use them wherever it seems necessary and useful,” French Defence Minister Florence Parly told AFP in Sofia.

Parly used Saturday's meeting to detail the plan to fellow defence ministers and held one-on-one talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to assure her it would not compete with PESCO.

“We had to explain in concrete terms what it involves and reassure some of our partners about the way this initiative is being coordinated with everything the EU is in the process of doing,” she said.

The nine countries that have expressed interest in joining France in the initiative, which reportedly include Germany, Italy, Spain and Estonia, will meet in June to formalise the plan, Parly said.

France has been keen to build a multinational force that could intervene abroad as it did in Mali in 2013.

But Parly said that missions could also include evacuating nationals from hotspots, and that countries unwilling to commit troops to combat could contribute with logistics.

The initiative stands outside PESCO, but Mogherini was at pains to stress that it would be complementary.

“There is full coordination, there is full coherence,” Mogherini said.

“What I see is the intention from the French side to make the future initiative they have in mind perfectly coherent with the work we're doing on PESCO.” 

By Damon Wake and Christian Spillmann

For members

DRIVING

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

The EU has agreed to extend the number of driving offences for which motorists from other member states can be fined for and to make it easier for authorities to chase up the fines and make foreign drivers pay.

Published: 13 May 2024 17:28 CEST
EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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