EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced last week plans to assemble a high-level group of former defense officials, including representatives from Ukraine and the United Kingdom (UK), to prepare a report on how best to strengthen European security.
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However, officials said the initiative was canceled at the last minute after Italy, and later France and Germany, raised objections that it would interfere with national defense planning.
“Some member states felt that this is not the right path at this time,” said one EU official who spoke anonymously.
“We are looking for new ways to cooperate with member states. The diagnosis has not changed: Europe needs to act faster in defense,” he said.
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Europe has intensified efforts to fill its defense gaps in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and doubts about US commitments to the continent.
The cancellation of the report, first reported by the publication “Euractiv,” is a blow to K. Kallas, who is also currently facing calls to reform the EU diplomatic service she oversees.
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