The EU must increase its joint procurement efforts as military stocks have been depleted by the war in Ukraine, a meeting of the bloc's 27 defence ministers heard.
Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who was at the Brussels' meeting, said increased defence spending must be co-ordinated.
“In order to do it rightly and avoid wasting money, we have to do it more together,” he said. “European armies have to share.”
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: “We have seen that our support of Ukraine has weighed heavily on our strategic stocks and on the capacity of our defence industry to regenerate these stocks rapidly.”
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, who also attended the meeting, welcomed the EU's efforts to coordinate procurement. He said that Europe had nine different kinds of battle tanks whereas the US only had one.
"This increases the costs of maintenance and production" for Europe, he said. "Therefore, efforts by the EU to address the fragmentation of the European defence industry is something we welcome in Nato."
Mr Borrell had earlier pledged continued supporting for Ukraine until the war with Russia is won.
EU members have so far provided €8bn ($8.32bn) in military support for Ukraine, said Mr Borrell, responding to accusations it was contributing less than the US.
Tuesday's meeting heard how only 8 per cent of military procurement was done collaboratively in 2021, far from the 35 per cent target set by the European Defence Agency.
“This is not satisfactory if you want to avoid fragmentation of the defence market,” a senior European External Action Service official said.
“We need to spend more but above all, better, and that means together.”
EU countries have listed their needs and Brussels will now present them to defence industry representatives. An assessment of what can be provided is not expected until next year.
Western countries have been scrambling to increase their weapons and ammunition production to continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort through the winter and outlast Russia.
“Probably early next year we’ll have good picture of the situation and see how the European industry is able to answer concretely to these needs,” said the EEAS official.
The EU commission in July proposed to commit €500 million of the EU budget over the next two years to reinforce Europe’s defence industry.
European officials also want to reduce dependencies on non-EU military contracts. “Out of all purchases, 60 per cent go to non-European equipment,” said the official.
“If we want to boost the competitiveness of the European industry, we have the strengthen our industrial base.”
The EU on Tuesday launched a two-year programme to jointly train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers at a cost of €106.7 million.
Mr Borrell said that it was a response to a request from the Ukrainian military.
“War is a very sophisticated thing,” he said. “They require specific capacities to be able to use modern arms.”
The bloc allocated an additional €16 million to support the Ukrainian army with lethal military equipment, including ammunitions.
The EEAS official said 12,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be collectively trained and 2,800 will receive specialised training.
The bloc’s member states are expected to offer military training on their own soil. The official said that they had not received official offers yet but expects between 15 and 20 countries to participate.
Some countries have already publicly stated their intention to take part in the programme.
Germany's Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht on Tuesday said Berlin was planning to train 5,000 Ukrainians “in a wide range of skills” by next June.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said her country would train 400 troops every two months, with a total capacity of 2,400 a year.
French President Emmanuel Macron previously said France would train 2,000 soldiers.
Poland, a neighbour of Ukraine with a close relationship with Kyiv, and Germany, which already houses an international military training centre for Ukrainian soldiers, are expected to play important roles in the mission.
The roll-out of the programme was described as slow by Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks, who said his country had suggested a similar mission to support Ukraine two years ago.
Responding to such criticism, Mr Stoltenberg told reporters that many EU members had already participated in different ways in the military training of the Ukrainian army. Close to 10,000 troops have been trained in the UK just this year.
"Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have already been trained by Nato allies, and this has helped the Ukrainians to stand up against the Russian invasion," he said.
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Paris Can Wait
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Two stars
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
SHAITTAN
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The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
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Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
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The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
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The years Ramadan fell in May
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
