Brussels, 13/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The ministers for foreign affairs and defence of France, Poland and Germany (Weimar Group) have taken position in favour of “new dynamism for the European Security and Defence Policy” (ESDP) and of the development of “more robust and effective tools for a more consistent European action”. In a joint letter sent on Monday 13 December to the high representative of the EU, the heads of diplomacy and defence ministers of the three states call on Catherine Ashton to “start a reflection as soon as possible” in order to get “concrete results” on the issue “under the Polish Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2011”. The initiative presented by the ministers proposes: - to step up the relationship between the EU and NATO; - to improve the permanent planning tools and civil-military conduct of operations and EU missions; - to step up the use of battlegroups (EU rapid reaction forces), notably by including civilian elements; - and to reinforce the military capabilities of the EU, particularly by encouraging investment in technology and research in the field of defence and by rebuilding the European defence industry (the industrial and technological basis for defence). In terms of cooperation with NATO, the three countries particularly stressed the need for cooperation as regards capabilities, on the basis of cooperation which already exists between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) of NATO in Norfolk. They do not, however, rule out cooperation in the field of new challenges, such as cyber-defence. (A.By./transl.fl)