EU's Borrell says Afghanistan shows need for European Rapid Reaction Force

European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell recently said that the EU governments must push ahead with a European rapid reaction force in a bid to be better prepared for future crises such as in Afghanistan. In an interview, Borrell told Italian paper Il Corriere della Sera that the short-notice deployment of American troops to Afghanistan as security deteriorated showed the EU needed to accelerate efforts to build a common defence policy. He said that Europe needs to draw lessons from this experience as Europeans weren’t able to send 6,000 soldiers around the Kabul airport to secure the area. 

“The US has been, we (Europe) haven’t,” Borrell said. 

The top EU official further said that the 27-member bloc should have an “initial entry force” of 5,000 soldiers. “We need to be able to act quickly,” he said. Borrell also went on to say that it was time to be flexible, citing agreements made quickly to cope with the financial crisis as an example of how the EU could overcome restrictions in the deployment of military operations laid down in its constitutional treaties. He said that the EU nations can work in many different ways. 

EU to remain on ground in Kabul 

Meanwhile, Borrell’s push for a European rapid reaction force comes days after two blasts were reported near Kabul airport. The attack killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 US troops. Following the blast, the European Commission (EU) spokesperson Peter Stano said that the organisation will spare no effort to evacuate the vulnerable citizens from Afghanistan and announced that a small EU team "will be on the ground as long as necessary in order to complete the evacuation operations”. 

The Commission has decided to leave a skeleton staff in Kabul as support to ensure complete evacuation of asylum seekers as the US prepares to exit from the war-torn nation. Citing "operational reasons" Stano refused to provide further details on the matter. "They are operating in an environment which is not exactly friendly," the spokesperson said. As per EU data, as many as 400 Afghans employed with the EU, along with their families, have already been extracted from the war-torn nation. However, he added, "there are still some people who we need and want to get out”. 

(Image: AP)