Bremen - European defence ministers agreed yesterday to strive for "the ambitious goal" of a common military capability within 18 months. The German Defence Minister, Mr Rudolf Scharping, said the ministers from the Western European Union - at which Ireland has observer status - wanted to plug gaps and avoid duplication in Europe's allied forces and arms industries.
Mr Scharping was speaking at the start of a two-day summit of defence and foreign ministers, whose task of working on a common European defence structure has been given added urgency by the Kosovo conflict.