French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter with a joint proposals for a “more active and more useful” European defence policy to head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini,  The Guardian reported quoting Le Drian.

As it is reported, the document will serve as a “basis for considering a relaunch of European defence”, the ministry said. The letter comes before a European Union summit to discuss plans to boost the bloc’s security and defence mechanisms.

The objective is to make European defence “more active and more useful without substituting it for national defence bodies which remain, by definition, the key to the security of EU member states,” a member of Le Drian’s entourage said.

The newspaper noted that the system will be open for all the EU countries. The UK which made the decision of Brexit will not participate. Discussion of an initiative is planned for September 16.