EU's big three propose crisis battle groups

France, Britain and Germany presented joint proposals for the European Union to create military battle groups for short-notice deployments to crisis spots around the world.

A French Foreign Ministry spokesman said the idea emerged from a summit of French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London last November and Germany had since joined the project.

"The aim is for the European Union to be capable to respond to requests by the United Nations," he said.

"It involves units of 1,500 men that can be deployed within 15 days for a maximum duration of 30 days, responding to a crisis which could for example be connected to the failure of a state - hence being capable to respond to a UN request."

Diplomats said the most likely use would be to restore order or stabilise a crisis zone and fill a crucial gap of up to three months until a UN peacekeeping force can be deployed, as a French-led EU force did in Bunia, eastern Congo, last year.

The French spokesman said the EU units would not compete with Nato's planned 21,000-strong Response Force, which is intended for more high intensity warfare, but might use Nato assets under arrangements between the two organisations.

"The objective is to have a new tool for Europeans but which will not be competing with others. It allows the Europeans to be present (in a crisis)," the spokesman said.

"It would come within a UN mandate. The troops would be available to the UN Security Council as one possible tool."

A senior diplomat said Europe's three main military powers presented a joint working paper to the EU's Political and Security Committee, setting a target date of 2007 to have the new units up and running.

The French, British and Germans would each provide a battle group and they hoped that Italy, Spain and Poland would follow suit, while groups of smaller EU countries such as the Nordic states would form multinational units, the diplomat said.

Altogether seven or eight highly trained, rapidly deployable battle groups should be created over the next three years.

A British defence ministry spokeswoman said the aim would be to move quickly to prevent and stabilise crises such as those where the Security Council sends in peacekeepers under Chapter VII of the UN charter.