PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The European Union and NATO will have their first joint exercises next year, alliance leaders announced Thursday in a decision that boosts the chances of the EU developing its own military arm.
For more than a year, the European Union and NATO have been locked in negotiations on how to cooperate more closely on military matters, but a deal has been held up because of a long-standing row between Brussels and Turkey over access to NATO assets.
The 15-member club wants automatic access to the alliance's planning capabilities when setting up its 60,000-strong rapid-reaction force. However, Turkey, which is a member of NATO but not of the European Union, fears this force could be used against its interests in the eastern Mediterranean.
The spat has forced the European Union, which has ambitions to become a bigger player on the international stage, to delay its first military maneuver in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The European Union had hoped to replace the NATO peacekeeping force in the fragile Balkan state earlier this fall, but failure to reach an agreement with Ankara means this has been shunted back to next June.
"I hope this will help finalize relations between the EU and NATO as soon as possible," said one alliance official, who declined to give further details of the deal.
Thursday's decision to have joint exercises at an unspecified date in 2003 surprised many Brussels-watchers because Turkey initiated the move.
The country's moderate Islamic government, which was voted into power earlier this month, is keen to get closer to Brussels in order to get the green light to start talks on joining the European Union at a mid-December meeting in Denmark.
The proposal, agreed by NATO leaders at a historic enlargement summit in Prague, is likely to increase Ankara's chances of receiving an invitation to start membership talks from EU leaders.
John Palmer, an analyst at the Brussels-based European Policy Center, told United Press International, "The time when the EU assumes responsibility for its own affairs is getting closer."
The think-tank director added it was "logical" the European Union and NATO should start joint exercises given their overlapping interests.
