The EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas, has cancelled the launch of her Defence expert group, which had been planned for Monday 7 September with much fanfare. Ms Kallas had announced the creation of the group on 1 September at the informal meeting of Defence ministers in Wicklow (Ireland) (see EUROPE 13928/19).
“Some Member States felt that this was not the right path to pursue at this moment. After discussions with ministers, the High Representative has decided not to proceed with this initiative and is looking for new ways of engaging with Member States,” European External Action Service spokesperson Christian Wigand told the media.
Despite this cancellation, “the diagnosis has not changed, and Europe needs to deliver faster on defence”, he added.
Several Member States, including Italy, France and Germany, were not in favour of such a group, which was to bring together senior political and military officials from Member States, the United Kingdom and Ukraine in order to find solutions to address the identified capability gaps. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)