In Brief...World News Review - New Era of European Defense
Britain and France took a step toward "a new era" of European defense without America by signing a bilateral accord Friday to allow joint operations outside their territories and those of their NATO allies.
SAINT MALO, France, Dec 4 (AFP) - Britain and France took a step toward "a new era" of European defense without America by signing a bilateral accord Friday to allow joint operations outside their territories and those of their NATO allies. The accord is seen as an example of the new bonding between Britain and France on the need to build a European defense arm.
In a symbolic highlighting of the event, the accord was signed on board a British destroyer, anchored alongside a French frigate off the picturesque walled city of Saint Malo on the western Brittany coast.
The signing took place during a two-day Franco-British summit during which Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac are expected to issue a statement of principle underlining their commitment to forging a new European security architecture.
Friday's letter of intent on cooperation in crisis management and operations states that the deal should "improve the operational capabilities which might be available in support of, and contribute to, the developing European Defense Identity."
"As we stand here today on the deck of HMS Birmingham we start a new era in British-French military relations," said British Defense Secretary George Robertson. "It is a significant day for both countries."
Robertson and his French counterpart Alain Richard said the accord marked a major and practical step toward strengthening Europe's defense capability. The agreement, said Richard, would allow "joint action when it is necessary in outside terrain."
The two defense ministers, at the heart of what is shaping up as a new partnership to give the European Union added muscle, stressed that cooperation in the field was "more than just words."
A visible sign of mutual defense cooperation is to emerge this month when troops from the two nations engage in Macedonia, at the head of a force also including German and Dutch soldiers. The so-called "extraction force" will be on standby, in the event of need, to rescue the 2,000 monitors in Kosovo working for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
It will be the first NATO operation to be commanded by France. "We Europeans need to play, and can play, a fuller role in contributing to our own security," Robertson said this week.
The letter of intent provides for the mounting of joint operations and cooperation in logistics, intelligence, civil/military affairs, personnel exchanges and media handling. It comes after Britain-in a significant shift last October-reversed its previous opposition to a "European defense identity."
A move in the direction of a joint defense arm would end years of frustrated efforts by the European powers to speak with a joint voice in military affairs and comes as the 15-nation E.U. prepares to launch its single currency in January.
At the center of the plan is a bid to enable Europeans to take action in regional crises, or missions in other parts of the world, where Washington is unwilling to commit troops. E.U. leaders have insisted the plan would in no way affect ties with NATO. But there is talk, on the other hand, of coming change for Europe's sole current defense arm, the 10-member Western European Union (WEU), long viewed as ineffective.
Talks earlier this month between 28 foreign and defense ministers from WEU, E.U. and NATO countries left unresolved a long-running debate over the institutional framework for a European defense arm.
Britain for one has insisted that European nations first tackle the nitty-gritty issues of building a proper European military capability before worrying about the institutional arrangements.
Addressing the WEU this week, Robertson stressed that European forces would not have had the military muscle to take on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Kosovo because of the lack of European airpower. "We need a defense capability that is fit for today's world," he said. "For all of us this means tough choices. Together we need to address questions of investment, prioritisation and the restructuring of our defense industries."
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: January 1999
Course Content
David Palmer
Born in Saskatchewan Canada, David Palmer was first introduced to the radio broadcast of the World Tomorrow during his career in broadcasting, when the program was aired during his on air shift. In 1965 his radio career took him to Vancouver British Columbia, where he was eventually baptized, and began attending Sabbath services. He was ordained to the ministry in 1983. Now retired from broadcasting David currently pastors congregations in Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. He is also a member of the UCG-Canada National Council, and serves on the Canadian Ministerial Services Team, as well as the Canadian Media Team
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Peter Eddington
Peter serves at the home office as Interim Manager of Media and Communications Services.
He studied production engineering at the Swinburne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, and is a journeyman machinist. He moved to the United States to attend Ambassador College in 1980. He graduated from the Pasadena campus in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and married his college sweetheart, Terri. Peter was ordained an elder in 1992. He served as assistant pastor in the Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo, California, congregations from 1995 through 1998 and the Cincinnati, Ohio, congregations from 2010 through 2011.
