Britain Set to Pledge 12,000 Troops to EU ForceBritain is expected to commit about 12,000 ground troops to a 60,000-strong rapid reaction force the European Union (EU) wants to set up by 2003, defense sources said on Friday.Britain will also contribute 72 combat aircraft and 18 warships along with logistical support to the EU force, which will not be a standing army but rather a pool of national resources which the EU could draw from. EU defense and foreign ministers are scheduled to meet on Monday to mark the biggest move so far towards an Anglo-French plan for an EU-wide defense force by 2003. The plan is for a force capable of deploying 60,000 troops within 60 days when a regional crisis occurred in Europe. "Our basic intention is to make a contribution to any EU-led operation commensurate with our military weight and the leading role we've taken in European defense," a British defense source told reporters. "If the EU were to conduct an operation with close to 60,000 troops we would expect the UK contribution to be about a fifth of that," he said. "We are offering a very rounded capability. If you like the full toolkit from which you can choose," he said, adding that the British troops could be drawn from any source in the British army. "The British squad from which the 12,000 will be drawn is going to be much bigger than 12,000 (people) -- in one sense you could say the ultimate British squad is the entire British armed forces if we wanted to draw on them," the defense source said. |
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