On 29 April 2003 after the Brussels summit on defence, President Chirac, Chancellor Schröder and Prime Ministers Verhofstadt and Juncker adopted a statement on rekindling European defence policy. They called on the European Convention to adopt the concept of a European Security and Defence Union open to all current and future Member States willing to be included in this framework. The declaration, which stresses that the partnership with the United States is a necessary condition for...