Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania signed on Monday a Letter of Intent to set up a Balkan battle group for the EU rapid reaction troops, according to the semi-official Cyprus News Agency.

The agreement was signed on behalf of Cyprus by Minister of Defence Kyriacos Mavronicolas at the Greek Permanent Representation at the EU in Brussels.

The initiative for setting up the battle group belongs to Greece which will make available the larger part of its forces as the framework nation.

The battle groups are a fundamental EU instrument, providing the EU with rapid reaction forces to execute peacekeeping or humanitarian operations.

Romania and Bulgaria are scheduled to join the EU in 2007.

A statement by the Cypriot Ministry of Defence said the signing of the agreement proved its determination to contribute to the common effort of the 25 EU members in developing rapid reaction forces.

Source: Xinhua