Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold is taking part in discussions in the wake of the EU defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels today. Norway, together with six other non-EU member countries, has been invited by the EU Chairmanship to take part in discussions concerning the development of European defence cooperation, including the establishment of the EU’s rapid reaction forces.

The Defence Minister will today also sign a security agreement between the EU and Norway. The agreement relates to security procedures for the exchange of classified information between parties to the agreement. Mr Javier Solana, the EU’s head of foreign policy, will sign on behalf of the EU and the Defence Minister will sign on behalf of Norway.

Commenting after the meetings, the Defence Minister said: “We have now made known our intention to contribute up to 150 soldiers to a Nordic rapid reaction force which is to be made available to the EU. It is good news that the EU welcomes contributions to its rapid reaction forces by NATO countries which are not members of the EU. Norway was singled out for special mention today as a possible participant in one of the EU’s 12 planned "battlegroups", and we will continue to work on this in collaboration with our Swedish and Finnish partners. Our provisos for such participation, however, remain unchanged. These are that participation has been authorised at national level, that the Norwegian contingent is under national control and that the operation mandate complies with the provisions of international law.