A European Union security strategy has been agreed in Brussels that will see member states urged to boost their military capability and be willing to take "preventative engagement" measures abroad.
Although there is no explicit language saying the EU could follow the US policy of "pre-emptive engagement", EU foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, said the move would allow for "robust intervention".
"The threats we face are dynamic. Left alone, they will grow. We need to be able to act at the first signs of trouble," Mr Solana told the International Herald Tribune.
The new strategy follows a deal hammered out last night by Britain, France and Germany in which the creation of a military planning cell for crisis operations was agreed.
The United States had been concerned about the EU's military ambitions and the threat it posed to NATO. In a conciliatory move brokered by Britain, the EU and NATO agreed to put liaison teams at each other's military headquarters, and the operational planning cell will only be used as a last resort.
"These measures should enter into force as early as possible in 2004," the EU leaders said, in a statement backing the deal.
An amendment to an article in the proposed EU constitution that leaders hope to agree at this weekend's summit seems likely to allow the EU's four neutral/non-aligned countries; Ireland, Finland, Sweden and Austria opt out of any military operations.
Additional reporting agencies