THE DAY IN POLITICS / (eu) eu/nato/security and defence

EP and NATO Parliamentary Assembly establish regular relations - Patten hopes to propose Rapid Reaction Facility before Lisbon Summit - Bereuter expresses American concerns - Key problem of defence budgets

Brussels, 22/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - After the first joint meeting of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, on 22 February in Brussels, the respective chairmen, Elmar Brok and Javier Ruperez, announced to the press that, in future: - the NATO Assembly will be represented at quarterly meetings of the EP committee with Javier Solana and Chris Patten; - the European Parliament will obtain special status at the NATO Assembly to allow MEPs to play an active...