100,000 EU troops

[Chris Burford]

Yesterday the new British head of NATO, Robertson, pledged 100,00 European
troops to support EU policy. He was responding to a speech by Strobe
Talbot, criticising the Europeans for not shouldering more of the "defence"
burden for situations like Kosovo.

The force is explicitly to be available to work outside the countries of
the EU. Presumably in due course a country like Chechnya may be a case in
point. But at the moment the EU has merely offered mediation, to which the
Russians have firmly declined.

Chris Burford

London