Brussels, 18/07/2011 (Agence France) - Britain has blocked European Union plans for a permanent operational headquarters for EU security operations, British Foreign Minister William Hague announced on Monday 18 July. “The United Kingdom will not agree to such a permanent OHQ. We will not agree to it now. We will not agree to it in the future. That is a red line for us”, he told reporters on the sidelines of talks with his EU counterparts in Brussels. Hague said such a headquarters would only double up on NATO's structures, and that it would also be costly. Much more, he said, could already be done with existing structures. “We are opposed to this idea because we think that it duplicates NATO structures and permanently disassociates EU planning from NATO planning, whereas that planning can best be done in SHAPE”, he said, in reference to NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium. Britain is a staunch supporter of NATO as a defence pole, and routinely blocks EU military plans. It has constantly vetoed attempts to give the European Defence Agency a three-year budget. Hague said that most EU nations backed the headquarters plan, but that a few were opposed, although Britain was the only nation willing to block the move. “What is really needed is an improvement in defence capabilities in Europe, over time, and in the political will to use them”, he said. (LoC)