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		It is a deceit to pretend there is a popular mandate for EU defence policy Tuesday, 1st July 2008 European Defence has been designated as a top priority by President Nicolas Sarkozy as France today begins its 6-month Presidency of the EU. East Midlands MEPs Roger Helmer and Chris Heaton-Harris warn of the dangers for NATO and our national interests if the British Government allows itself to be seduced yet again by Paris. Mr Helmer said: "In spite of the popular rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, President Sarkozy will attempt to implement key elements of the Lisbon Treaty, particularly in the area of defence. "It is a deceit to pretend that there is a popular mandate for EU defence policy and that somehow it will deliver more defence capability and reinforce NATO. France will pursue her long-held ambition for European Defence and now wants backing for a separate EU operational headquarters, wastefully duplicating the capability that already exists in NATO. "All this comes at a time when defence capabilities are being cut. The latest French Defence White Paper aims to slash defence manpower by 54,000 at the very moment that British defence planners are recognising the need for more 'boots on the ground'. With one or two honourable exceptions, the continental Europeans are shirking their responsibilities to NATO in Afghanistan. "France is now calling for an autonomous EU defence budget. Just as Britain has picked up the tab for French farmers over three decades it is now expected that we will pay for France's defence interests. Chris Heaton-Harris adds that; "It doesn't stop there. The French want to turn their military schools into European academies to indoctrinate national troops in all the orthodoxies of an EU Army. They also want procurement of defence equipment under EU rules. "Those that wish to create an integrated European state, pursuing a set of continental foreign policy imperatives, will see merit in the agenda of the French presidency over the coming months. Those that attach importance to the transatlantic alliance, to the solidarity of the democracies and to Britain's global interests, should take a rather different view."