30. Takes note that the Franco-British agreement of 2 November 2010 on security and defence cooperation has been indeed launched outside the framework of the Treaty on European Union; hopes nevertheless that this latest attempt at Franco-British collaboration can act as a catalyst for further progress at European level in line with the Union's institutional framework and the logical requirements of rationalisation, interoperability and cost-effectiveness; underlines that the EDA should play a supportive role in this context; considers that the current Franco-British defence cooperation should provide a roadmap for more effective Europ ...[+++]ean defence cooperation based on capability planning and mutual dependency; urges the governments of France and the United Kingdom to commit to future European multilateral pooling and sharing arrangements;

30. Takes note that the Franco-British agreement of 2 November 2010 on security and defence cooperation has been indeed launched outside the framework of the Treaty on European Union; hopes nevertheless that this latest attempt at Franco-British collaboration can act as a catalyst for further progress at European level in line with the Union's institutional framework and the logical requirements of rationalisation, interoperability and cost-effectiveness; underlines that the EDA should play a supportive role in this context; considers that the current Franco-British defence cooperation should provide a roadmap for more effective Europ ...[+++]ean defence cooperation based on capability planning and mutual dependency; urges the governments of France and the United Kingdom to commit to future European multilateral pooling and sharing arrangements;

The Council held an exchange views on the need for greater pooling and sharing in the field of military capabilities on the basis of the results of the Ghent informal meeting of defence ministers (23-24 September 2010) and in the light of recent initiatives by Member States, mainly a German/Swedish food for thought paper on "Intensifying Military Cooperation in Europe" and the recent France-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement.

In this context the Council also noted the existing bilateral and multilateral initiatives and the signature of agreements between Member States, such as the recent UK-France Defence Cooperation Treaty, which promise to contribute to improving European defence capabilities.

And since the Anglo-French defence initiative at St Malo, things have indeed moved.

In particular, following the Franco-British initiative on the Caribbean now extended to Latin America, it calls upon the Council and the Commission, within the framework of their respective competence, to implement the recommendations on these regions, in cooperation where appropriate with the Union's American and Canadian partners.