European defense ministers are meeting in Brussels to examine how to remain militarily effective, including sharing resources,
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Less than a month ago,
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"We have reaffirmed the central premise of NATO - our Article 5 on commitment that an attack on one is an attack on all," said president Obama. "And to ensure this article has meaning, we agreed action in a third area,
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But doing this takes money - at a time European countries are slashing their defense budgets,
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Tomas Valasek, director of foreign and defense policy at the London-based Center for European Reform,
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"This is serious,
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Deeper defense collaboration among European countries may offer one option of saving money by pooling resources. In Brussels, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is outlining ways EU countries can share military resources.
France and Britain paved the way last month,
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"There's simply no need for the European members of NATO to have all these duplicating commands, educational systems, exercise ranges," added Valasek. "There's a lot more we can do together and a lot of money to be saved by abolishing duplication in Europe."
Valasek says similar military cooperation is possible among Nordic and Benelux countries. But Valasek,
NHL Jerseys Detroit Red Wings, for one, does not expect these regional initiatives to expand to a European-wide project - since military defense is ultimately a very politically sensitive issue.