Breaking news
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg sign joint air policing agreement.
| a | |||
| |
|||
World
Defense & Security News - Benelux |
|||
| Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg sign air policing agreement | |||
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, agreed, on Wednesday March 4, to
share surveillance and protection of their air spaces, in the first agreement
of its kind among EU countries. Starting from 2017, Belgian and Dutch
air forces will take turn to monitor the Benelux airspace. Luxembourg
has no military airforce but will open its air space to its neighbours’
jets. |
|||
The
common missions will involve the so-called 'Renegade' procedure aimed
at identifying suspect civil aircrafts that might pose a terrorist threat.
"The agreement is a step forward in the intensification of European
military cooperation", said Belgian prime minister Charles Michel
in a statement.
"We work together to make sure that European security progresses. The terrible events of the past months motivate us greatly", said his Dutch counterpart Marc Rutte, referring to recent terror attacks in France and Denmark. The Benelux agreement is a novelty in European defence policy because it is the first time countries agree that a foreign airforce may operate and potentially shoot down a civilian plane over its territory. This raises important legal issues set to be much debated in the three countries' parliaments during the ratification process. The agreement specifies that the decision to shoot down a civil aircraft will remain under the responsibility of the competent national authorities: the prime minister in Belgium and the security and justice minister in the Netherlands. Luxembourg has already excluded the use of lethal force over its territory. This agreement for
shared missions will come as a relief for the Dutch air force. The old
F16 fleet is supposed to be replaced by 2019 by new F35 jets, but the
programme has been running late and costs have rocketed. |
|||
