Mogherini: European armies won't be a reality anytime soon

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said today in Bratislava, ahead of the two-day informal meeting of EU foreign ministers and ministers of candidate countries, that plans for the EU's global strategy have moved from general discussion towards achieving "first operational results" by spring 2017, reports the Patria News Agency.

-Now is the time for the real things. A European army is not something that will happen soon. But, what could happen very quickly is for member states to commit to progress in the field of European defense through very concrete measures, stated Mogherini.

The main topics of the two-day informal meeting of EU foreign ministers and ministers of candidate countries will be EU-Turkey relations, the implementation of the Minsk agreement, and the fight against radicalization and terrorism.

This was announced upon arrival at the meeting by the hosts - Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák and Mogherini.

-Turkey is an important partner and we need to clarify what we want from Turkey. I hope that after tomorrow's meeting, we will have a more normal atmosphere, said Lajčák, emphasizing that the key issue for Turkey remains the anti-terrorism law.

He stressed that he is personally not in favor of breaking off negotiations between the EU and Turkey, as some European politicians have called for.

Regarding adherence to the Minsk agreement on stopping the conflict in Ukraine, Lajčák assessed that there has been no significant progress in the past year.

Mogherini pointed out that this is the first meeting of all European foreign ministers with the Turkish side after the dramatic events in that country.

-This will be an opportunity to send a common European message about what we expect from Turkey going forward, Mogherini told reporters, reports Hina.

While last year, she recalled, the focus was mostly on the refugee crisis, this year the key topics are the fight against terrorism and radicalization.