Non-Subscriber Extract
MEPs urge Europe, Israel co-operation on missile defence coverage
By Brooks Tigner
03 April 2008
Europe and Israel should work together to close the gap in Europe's missile defence coverage, according to Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and an Israeli missile defence specialist.
The US missile defence system currently being extended across NATO territory would not cover southeastern Europe, they stated, asserting that smaller scale requirements in combination with Israel's geographical proximity to southeastern Europe are strong reasons to co-operate in defending the region against growing missile threats from Iran.
"Missile defence is an area of security for Europe and for Israel that cannot be separated," Karl von Wogau, a German MEP and chairman of the European parliament's Sub-committee on Security and Defence, said at a meeting in Brussels on 1 April 2008.
The committee met to review the implications of NATO's intention to enlarge and US plans to extend its homeland missile defence system via a new third site in eastern Europe. This would comprise a radar tracking installation in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.