SAINT-MALO, France -- France and Britain agreed Friday that Europe needs a stronger, more independent defense policy to help it react more effectively to international crises.
In a joint statement, French and British leaders said the European Union should have the ability to act independently, while also still functioning with existing alliances, particularly NATO."It is vital for Europe to have a stronger and more coherent force and voice in international affairs," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in the Brittany port town of Saint-Malo.
Chirac called the joint declaration "an affirmation of the European Union on the international scene" and emphasized that Europeans want to put in place "a real foreign defense policy."
In Washington, State Department spokesman James Foley welcomed the summit's outcome.
"Certainly, the United States' interest is clear," Foley said. "We want a European partner that's capable of acting."
Earlier Friday, Defense Ministers Alain Richard of France and George Robertson of Britain, meeting aboard two frigates, signed an agreement that would allow for greater cooperation in crisis management and military operations.
Britain and France, both nuclear powers and U.N. Security Council members, traditionally have been at odds over the role of the European Union. But both now recognize the need for Europe to cope militarily when the United States does not get involved in crises.
The EU is sensitive to criticism that it reacts too slowly and in a disjointed fashion to crises.