(exclusive) A Council of Defense Ministers, solo, on December 9
It's almost confirmed and definitive. There will indeed be a Council of Ministers of Defense, independently of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, as announced on Brussels2 a few days ago (1). The date is now fixed and was endorsed today by the ambassadors of the COPS (the Political and Security Committee of the EU). The Ministers of Defense will therefore meet, solo, on December 9; while their Foreign Affairs counterparts will hold a meeting on December 13, just before the European Summit. A decision driven by imperatives of the agenda of the High Representative of the EU who intended to be present, also, at the meeting of Ministers of Defense. And since it can't be cut in two... But, if my information is correct, it still causes some teeth to cringe in certain Member States. This is, in fact, a first at European level. On the Belgian side, we do not comment on this decision, presidency obliges. But we can only recall, here, that his Defense Minister, Pieter De Crem, had supported this proposal, which he even included among his priorities (it was during the penultimate informal meeting, in Palma de Mallorca) . Hopefully this precedent will be followed by others.