Voice of America: EU signs historic defence pact as Brexit, Trump drive bloc to co-operate

Three years later, Russia’s invasion of Crimea persuaded many European leaders of the need for closer defence. “It has failed in the past. There is a window of opportunity now that they have seized on, led by predominantly Germany and France, to build this group of 23 who want to integrate more closely,” says Sophia Besch, security and defence analyst at the Centre for European Reform....“The strong sense in Europe that America will no longer be there to rescue them, and that they have to get serious, that they have to grow up on defense themselves. Then secondly, we’ve had Brexit. The UK has always been critical of European defence integration on the EU level,” says Besch.