The defense ministers of the European Union countries are discussing forming a rapid reaction force after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan shocked the bloc’s lack of self-maneuvering margin, to confront the unilateral and sudden US steps.

Calls have intensified in recent days for the 27 member states to develop their own joint military capacity to respond quickly to crises after the scenes of chaos at Kabul airport that followed the Taliban takeover.

During their meeting in Slovenia, on Thursday, European ministers are scheduled to reconsider a proposal – first presented in May – aimed at forming a force of five thousand as part of the review of the European Union’s defense strategy, which is supposed to end next year.

There are serious doubts about the ability of the Europeans to come up with such a project, as the European Union has never been able to use the system of “tactical groupings” established in 2007, but it requires the unanimity of member states in order to activate it.

“The need for greater European defense has never been more clear than it is today after the events in Afghanistan,” European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said Thursday at the beginning of the meeting at Brdo Palace (Northern Slovenia). “Sometimes something happens that creates a breakthrough and I think the events of the summer in Afghanistan are part of it,” he added.

Asked about the creation of a new European military force, Borrell insisted that “we should go for something more practical”, as the tactical groupings remained unused.

Slovenian Defense Minister Mate Tonin, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, estimated that the rapid reaction force could number between “five thousand and 20,000 personnel.”

He called for a new system that would allow troops from “volunteer states” to be sent on behalf of the European Union if a majority of member states agreed, rather than the consensus required for tactical gatherings.

And his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer considered that the lesson of what happened in Afghanistan is that “we have to become more independent as Europeans and be able to move more independently.” “But it is very important that we do not act as a substitute for NATO and the Americans,” she added.

And the European Union has been divided for years over the role that it should play in the field of defense, especially because of the great reluctance on the part of the Eastern European countries, which are very attached to the umbrella of NATO, and the Americans in confronting Moscow.

Talks resumed after Britain’s exit from the bloc, especially as it was strongly opposed to the possibility of forming a European army.