VOA英语2010年-European Ministers Meet to Discuss Military

European defense¹ ministers are meeting in Brussels to examine how to remain militarily effective, including sharing resources, at a time of fiscal² austerity.

Less than a month ago, U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders agreed to revamp the NATO defense alliance to meet new and daunting³ challenges in the 21st century. Obama announced the aims of the new, so-called 'strategic concept' during a NATO summit in Lisbon.

"We have reaffirmed the central premise⁴ of NATO - our Article 5 on commitment that an attack on one is an attack on all," said president Obama. "And to ensure this article has meaning, we agreed action in a third area, to modernize⁵ our conventional forces and develop the full range of military capabilities⁶ that we need to defend our nations."

But doing this takes money - at a time European countries are slashing⁷ their defense budgets, sometimes drastically. That's the dilemma⁸ European defense ministers are confronting as they meet in Brussels.

Tomas Valasek, director of foreign and defense policy at the London-based Center for European Reform, says Europe's defense cuts pose a big problem for the NATO alliance and Europe's own ability to defend itself.

"This is serious," said Valasek. "The reality is that all of the assumptions in the new strategic concept which NATO has just approved a few weeks ago in Lisbon depend on all these ideas being resourced."

Deeper defense collaboration⁹ among European countries may offer one option of saving money by pooling resources. In Brussels, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is outlining ways EU countries can share military resources.

France and Britain paved the way last month, striking a deal to collaborate¹⁰ on nuclear weapons research, aircraft carriers and training programs, among other areas.

"There's simply no need for the European members of NATO to have all these duplicating commands, educational systems, exercise ranges," added Valasek. "There's a lot more we can do together and a lot of money to be saved by abolishing duplication in Europe."

Valasek says similar military cooperation is possible among Nordic and Benelux countries. But Valasek, for one, does not expect these regional initiatives to expand to a European-wide project - since military defense is ultimately a very politically sensitive issue.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

4 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

5 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

8 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

9 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

10 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。