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A man and woman have their lunch as they sit beneath the EU flags near the EU Council headquarters on April 10, 2019, in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
France’s rage over its abrupt sidelining by an Australian-British-US defense pact is drawing fresh attention to nascent European Union cooperation programs designed to build bridges across the Atlantic and the English Channel.
As a player in several so-called PESCO programs, Paris has veto power when it comes to allowing non-EU members, like the United States, into the framework for increased defense collaboration. Additionally, the kerfuffle could affect planned cross-border programs, including a new European battle tank.
French submarine snub tests EU defense cooperation avenues (defensenews.com)
