Van Hecke, Johan (ELDR). (NL) Mr President, the Brok report is well timed in view of fact that the debate on European defence has gained momentum over the past few months.

What used to fall within the exclusive remit of NATO or was a matter of national sovereignty is increasingly appertaining to the European Union. At the end of 2000 in Nice, reinforced cooperation in the area of defence was still kept at bay, but today, there is ever growing consensus in this area. EU operations in Bosnia, Macedonia and eastern Africa have shown that Europe has a geopolitical responsibility. As the Brok report also clearly indicates, our own European headquarters are a conditio sine qua non for independent and efficient European defence.

It appears to me to be of major importance for more Member States, current and future ones, to join the European defence project of Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and France. Only in that way can a European force of this kind put an end to the useless duplication of defence efforts among Member States. Only then can we shatter the image of Europe as an economic giant, but a political dwarf and a worm in military terms.