London
France and Britain agreed this week to create a European rapid-reaction force that could respond quickly to crises in the region. After a meeting in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac said in a joint statement that the E.U. should develop a 1,500-strong force that could deploy within two weeks “to stabilize a situation or otherwise meet a short-term need,” until U.N. peacekeepers could arrive. The U.S. has expressed skepticism in the past about E.U. military plans, on the grounds that such forces could undermine NATO.
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