France, Germany, Belgium to hold defence summit
By Nicola Smith
In the wake of Europe’s division over Iraq, Germany, France and Belgium want to hold a summit of their own to forge closer ties on defence policy.
The Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, announced the forthcoming meeting on the fringes of the EU summit on Thursday evening in Brussels, reports die Presse.
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The three countries are the strongest opponents of the US-led war against Iraq. According to Mr Verhofstadt, they could build the "hard core" of European defence policy.
The move strengthens France and Germany’s bid to make the EU a bigger player on the international scene and sees a further tightening of their relations over security and defence policy.
The summit is scheduled to take place in Brussels.