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Britain and France are pushing for the formation of a large European rapid deployment force to carry out humanitarian roles such as peace-keeping.
Under the initiative, likely to be discussed today by European Union foreign and defence ministers in Brussels, European nations would agree to have a 40,000-strong force ready for rapid deployment.
The French and British propose that within three years, European countries should be able to field such a force within six to eight weeks, and to sustain it for two years. Although it would have humanitarian and peacekeeping functions, it would require a wide range of combat and specialist skills.
It would not be a standing European army, but assembled only in time of crisis and therefore different in nature from the existing Franco- German Eurocorps, which has a permanent staff.
French and British officials said commitments would be made within the framework of Nato but would be additional to EU countries' existing participation in forces such as the UK-led Nato rapid reaction corps in Kosovo.
EU members, though they would have to agree to the principle of having a force, would be able to opt out of joining any specific operation. Non-members such as Turkey, which is in Nato, would be invited to take part.
The Franco-British initiative follows a defence agreement made between Tony Blair, the British prime minister, and French president Jacques Chirac at St Malo last December. It reflects the belief of both governments that they should concentrate on substantive moves to boost capability rather than fiddling with institutional arrangements.
First steps towards EU approval of the plan will come at the Franco-British summit on November 25 and the Franco-German summit five days later.
The failure of many European countries to get value from defence budgets has been highlighted by the slow pace at which they have been able to send troops to the Kosovo peace-keeping force, Kfor, which is only now reaching its full complement of 50,000, some five months after its deployment.
The ability to deploy quickly would require military reform in a number of European countries, and could put upward pressure on defence spending, which has been falling steadily for a decade.
British officials, aware of US sensitivities, are stressing to American counterparts that boosting Europe's defence capabilities would strengthen Nato rather than undermine it.
One UK official said: "The US wants Europe to take more of the burden, and they are right."