The U.K. will not block an EU plan to create a joint military unit responsible for training missions in Somalia, Mali and Central African Republic, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Monday.
Britain has been holding up work on creating the unit, to the frustration of other EU member countries, but Johnson played down the delay.
“We’re just working on some of the language to make sure we get it totally right,” he told journalists ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We understand the vital importance of … European countries working to strengthen our defences,” he said. “If they want to come together…. with other arrangements, then we are not going to stand in their way.”
A political agreement to set up the new Military Planning and Conduct Capabilities (MPCC) unit was reached in March and officials are now drafting legal documents ahead of its creation.