EU desperately seeking a defence identity

In an interview with the Financial Times on 15 November 2001, the UK Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, said events since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States had reinforced the need for the European Union to forge a defence identity and establish a rapid reaction force. Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, echoed Mr Hoon's view, saying he reluctantly accepted that the absence of a EU military force meant that Member States such as Britain and France had had to make their own arrangements with the United States.