Harmonisation of procurement has long been desired but is still far from being achieved, the Commons defence select committee said with distinct understatement. Perhaps money really is the key. Centre-left governments are learning to love soldiers. The career of Javier Solana, the ex-socialist and staunch opponent of Nato, is indicative as he moves seamlessly from Nato to head EU defence. And there are political bonuses in expanding defence.
Defence is regional policy writ large.
Perhaps this is the real reason why the Tories have suddenly become so jittery about a project of which they, historically speaking, were the progenitors. European defence, after the 1950s rejection of a European Defence Community, were made by Tory prime ministers, including John Major. It is unreasonable to expect our North American allies to be involved in every operation falling short of territorial defence. In the case of peacekeeping, humanitarian or other crisis management operations, European countries should be able to act on their own when necessary. And that was written in 1996.