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#EuropeanDefenceUnion: European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committe gives green light

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PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 12: French troops patrol around the Eifel Tower on January 12, 2015 in Paris, France. France is set to deploy 10,000 troops to boost security following last week's deadly attacks while also mobilizing thousands of police to patrol Jewish schools and synagogues. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***

The Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament has approved a key report on the European Defence Union (EDU), drafted by ALDE MEP Urmas Paet (Estonian Reform Party), calling for more systematic defence co-operation between EU Member States.

The vote on the EDU report comes two months after the franco-german proposal for a closer EU defence cooperation and represents the first official step towards an advanced European defence policy to complement NATO; a key condition of the EDU according to rapporteur Urmas Paet: "The security environment in the European Union's neighbourhood has worsened dramatically in recent years. This means that Europe, in order to defend itself and increase its security, must do more. To be stronger,we need to advance a European Defence policy that complements NATO and takes the responsibility of protecting our interests and the European way of life."

“Co-operation with NATO is clearly key and EU countries must also set a goal of spending 2% of their GDP on defence as NATO members have done. We can talk endlessly about increasing the efficiency of defence costs, which is necessary, but in order to reach a certain level of quality, we need quantity.”

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