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Reuters
Reuters
Politics

EU must unite after U.S. pact with Australia, Britain shows, Borrell says

FILE PHOTO: EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell delivers a speech on the situation in Afghanistan during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, September 14, 2021. Julien Warnand/Pool via REUTERS

A new U.S. security pact with Australia and Britain shows that the European Union must develop its own defence and security strategies, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, the EU's top diplomat said on Thursday.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was not consulted on Wednesday's agreement for Washington to help Canberra build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, cancelling a deal with France to design diesel-electric submarines.

"We must survive on our own, as others do," Borrell said as he presented a new EU strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, talking of the "strategic autonomy" that French President Emmanuel Macron has championed. "I understand the extent to which the French government must be disappointed."

(Reporting by Robin Emmott)

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