EU pushes for more autonomy amid Afghanistan fallout

European Union ministers are mulling over ways to beef up the 27-nation bloc's strategic autonomy and improve its capacity to respond to future crises

BRDO CASTLE, Slovenia -- Still reeling from the European Union's shortcomings in Afghanistan, officials from the 27-nation bloc met Thursday to discuss ways to improve their response to future crises and not be so reliant on the U.S. European ministers of defense and foreign affairs gathered in Slovenia for talks also involving NATO and U.N. officials to look at ways to improve the bloc’s operational engagement and develop a rapid response force capable of operating in difficult military theaters. Ministers will discuss plans for the so-called strategic compass, a document aiming at harmonizing crisis management and defining defense ambitions for the bloc that is expected to be drafted before the end of the year. “It’s clear that the need for more European defense has never been as much as evident as today after the events in Afghanistan,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said upon his arrival.