Seven decades in the making, a defence pact comes to the EU

An European Union (EU) flag is pictured during a ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union nations are set to achieve a 70-year-old ambition to integrate their defences on Thursday, signing a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces together after Britain's decision to quit the bloc.

First blocked by the French parliament in the 1950s and later by Britain, which feared an EU army, the pact aims to end the squandering of billions of euros by splintered defence policies and Europe's heavy reliance on the United States.