UK blocks EU military unit in wording spat

New EU unit would be responsible for EU training missions in Africa.

The Commission should expect every last comma of its decision to be challenged during years of court litigation | Olivier Hoslet/EPA

The U.K. is standing in the way of the creation of an EU military unit because it objects to use of the words “operational HQ,” according to EU diplomats.

The EU wants to set up a Military Planning and Conduct Capabilities (MPCC) unit, which would be responsible for EU training missions in Somalia, Mali and Central African Republic. Political agreement on setting up the unit was reached in March and officials are drafting legal documents ahead of meetings of EU foreign ministers on Monday and of defense ministers on Thursday.

However, Britain won’t give its backing unless the wording is changed. Approval needs unanimity.

For some countries, including Germany, France and Italy, the MPCC is a small step toward the creation of an EU military HQ. The U.K. and Poland have made it clear that they do not want EU operational headquarters (although Poland is not publicly backing the U.K. over the wording spat).

London says this is not a veto and that its position is not linked to the general election taking place on June 8, diplomats say. But not everyone shares that view. A senior EU diplomat said the text has already been altered to accommodate London’s wishes but the U.K line has not changed as a result. “It’s clearly part of the pre-election game,” he said.

The MPCC, which would be based in Brussels, would plan and conduct EU security missions — but not all of them. Instead, it would take charge of what are known in EU jargon as “non executive” missions, which means they have only an advisory role and not a mandate to conduct actions instead of the host nation.

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