25, June 2018
Nine EU nations set to formalize a joint military intervention force 0
The French defense chief says nine European Union countries are set to formalize a plan for the creation of a joint European military intervention force, which would have the backing of Britain following its exit from the 28-nation bloc.
Representatives of the EU countries—France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Spain and Portugal—will meet in Luxembourg later on Monday to sign a letter of intent on the issue, Florence Parly said in an interview with Le Figaro.
The plan, which was launched last year by French President Emmanuel Macron, involves “joint planning work on crisis scenarios that could potentially threaten European security,” according to a source close to the minister.
The force is intended to be rapidly deployable to deal with those situations, including natural disasters, intervention in a crisis or evacuation of people.
The joint military force would be separate from other EU defense cooperation and will operate independently of the union.
“This is clearly an initiative that allows the association of some non-EU states,” Parly said. “The UK has been very keen because it wants to maintain cooperation with Europe beyond bilateral ties.”
Germany, which was initially reluctant to join the military plan, announced earlier this month that it would support it.
The new government in Italy “is considering the possibility of joining” but has not made a final decision yet, said the French minister. The former government had shown interest in the plan.
In December 2017, 25 EU states inked a major military deal, under which they agreed to cooperate in various projects, but it is not clear whether London would be allowed to take part in any of them once it leaves the bloc.
Britain, Europe’s biggest military power along with France, will no longer be allowed to operate within the union after its separation from the bloc.
The United Kingdom voted to leave the EU by a margin of 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent in a referendum held on June 23, 2016. It is now involved in a complicated debate with the EU for the separation.
Source: Presstv
26, June 2018
North, South Korea mull connecting railways 0
Officials from North and South Korea have met to discuss connecting the railways that run useless across their border amid a rapprochement on the long-divided peninsula.
The talks were held in the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas on Tuesday, the first on the issue in 10 years.
A train line connecting Seoul to Pyongyang and on to Sinuiju on the Chinese border already exists. It was built by Japan in the early 20th century, long before the 1950-53 Korean War, which politically divided the two Koreas.
Linking up the railways and modernizing the North’s aging rail infrastructure would benefit trade-dependent South Korea as it would give it a land route to the markets of China, Russia, and on to Europe.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have significantly eased since January this year, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed interest in the betterment of relations with South Korea. Vigorous diplomacy soon followed, and Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in then met in a historic summit.
Later, the US, too, engaged in diplomacy with Pyongyang, which culminated in a summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.
The two Koreas have, however, advanced their relations far more swiftly than Washington and Pyongyang. The US continues to maintain harsh sanctions on the North.
South Korea’s chief delegate Kim Jeong-ryeol said in the Tuesday meeting that progress on the railway issue would only become possible after international restrictions on North Korea are eased.
“But, he said, “we can thoroughly research and study various projects we can pursue after the sanctions are lifted.”