EU military chiefs worry about Lisbon

BRUSSELS, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Top European Union military leaders say they are concerned the Lisbon Treaty will mean their advice will carry less weight.

The group met Wednesday in Brussels for a ceremony marking the transfer of the chairmanship of the military committee from Henri Bentegeat of France to Hakan Syren of Sweden. They also reviewed the status of EU military operations.

Under the current system, military leaders report to the rotating president of the union. Under Lisbon, they will report to the European foreign secretary and will be merged into a new foreign service to be called the European External Action Service.

"The chiefs of defense welcomed the recent agreement on the EU external action service (EEAS), comprising all crisis management bodies, including the military committee. In respect to the civil-military planning department, we want to ensure that attention is paid to the filling of military posts with experienced personnel," Bentegeat said at a news conference Wednesday.