Weeks after being berated by U.S. President Donald Trump for failing to spend enough on defense, European nations vowed Thursday to boost military cooperation in their part of the world. "The objective is to deliver capabilities, ensure a competitive, innovative and balanced basis for Europe's defense industry across the EU," they said in a statement. EU countries plan to draw up criteria and binding commitments over the next three months for setting their defense cooperation goals in stone instead of relying on the vaguer promises of the past. The leaders also agreed to use EU funds to finance Europe's battlegroups - small, expeditionary forces that can be deployed quickly to crisis hotspots. The leaders also welcomed plans to set up a common European defense fund that is expected to generate around 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) a year from 2020 to invest in developing military equipment.

Source: ABC News June 22, 2017 18:45 UTC