UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac have committed themselves to a bigger role for the Union in defence planning…

Date: 10/12/1998

...and possible military action. At a bilateral summit in St Malo late last week, the two leaders signed a declaration stating that the EU should have the capacity to take action outside the NATO alliance with “credible military forces”. The joint statement represents the latest step in Blair's bid to convince his Union partners to improve the EU's ability to respond to security crises without NATO.