10 Presidency report on European Security
and Defence Policy
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| Presidency Report on European Security and Defence Policy
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| Legal base | — |
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 17 June 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| Discussed in Council | 17-18 June 2004 European Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
10.1 Each Presidency submits a report on European Security and
Defence Policy to the European Council (in December or June).
The Irish Presidency report
10.2 This report follows the usual format: recording significant
developments over the six months of the Presidency, referring
where appropriate to activities undertaken in earlier months,
highlighting progress in specific areas and drawing attention
to others where further work is needed. It was submitted to the
17-18 June 2004 European Council and endorsed in the Council Conclusions.[32]
10.3 The main points are:
EU OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY
- Progress has been made in preparations
for: the possible ESDP mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina that
is expected to be launched at the end of this year; the two civilian
ESDP missions (EU Police Missions in Bosnia and Macedonia); and
the EU's first civilian ESDP rule of law mission, to be launched
in Georgia in July. Work has been taken forward on implementing
the proposals from the Italian Presidency for better NATO/EU liaison
and for a civilian-military cell to be established inside the
EU Military Staff as outlined in the December Presidency report,
European Defence: NATO/EU consultation, planning and operations,
which we cleared on 4 February.[33]
DEVELOPMENT OF EU CAPABILITIES
- On the military side of ESDP,
the report notes progress in: Headline Goal 2010 (which
outlines the aims for the development of EU military capabilities
up until that date); implementation of the EU Capability Development
Mechanism; and development of the EU's Rapid Response capacity,
in the form of the battle-group concept.[34]
- On the civilian side of ESDP, the process of
reviewing civilian capabilities was launched in May when the ten
Member States were formally asked for indications of intentions
to contribute to the four priority areas (Police, Rule of Law,
Civil Administration, and Civil Protection). The Action Plan
for Civilian Aspects of ESDP, which was endorsed by the June
2004 European Council, is attached as an annex to the Presidency
Report. It reaffirms the level of EU ambition in the field of
Civilian Crisis Management, outlines the way forward for civilian
ESDP in the light of the challenges outlined in the European Security
Strategy and focuses on developing operational capability. In
particular, it notes that the EU should:
— Hold
a Civilian Capabilities Conference in 2004, to integrate the capabilities
of new Member States and re-examine the targets set at the Gothenburg
European Council;
— Develop a consolidated Civilian Headline
Goal for civilian crisis management, and the capacity to deploy
resources for civilian crisis management;
— Further develop a capacity to conduct
monitoring missions and identify further expertise and capability
in other areas, especially with regard to providing generic support
functions for EU Special Representatives;
— Build on work begun under the Irish Presidency
on the inter-linkages between crisis management and conflict prevention,
and relations with NGOs and civil society;
— Further increase operational capacity
by: increasing planning and mission support; addressing procurement
difficulties; ensuring adequate funding through the CFSP budget;
and improving capabilities through training and the sharing of
"best practice" in recruitment; and
— Reinforce co-operation with multilateral
organisations, including the UN and OSCE, and further enhance
transparency, dialogue and co-operation with other partners.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY
- The EU agreed in principle
to the establishment of the Agency in the field of defence capabilities,
research, acquisition and armaments in December 2003. The work
of the Agency Establishment Team over the past six months culminated
in the Joint Action establishing the Agency, which was agreed
at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 14 June
2004. On 9 June we recommended the draft Joint Action for debate
in European Standing Committee B,[35]
and the debate took place on 22 June.[36]
EU-NATO RELATIONS
- The report notes that the partnership
between the EU and NATO on crisis management continues to develop,
particularly in the context of planning for the EU's possible
take-over from NATO's Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and
in co-operation on civil emergency responses to terrorism.
ESDP AND AFRICA
- In January the EU agreed a
Common Position on the prevention, management and resolution of
conflicts in Africa, central to which is the principle of African
ownership; the EU is now looking at how ESDP can play a role in
this and in wider EU policy on Africa.
CO-OPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
- The June General Affairs and
External Relations Council also agreed a paper outlining the arrangements
for EU-UN co-operation in military crisis management. Work on
both military and civilian co-operation with the UN is expected
to continue during the Netherlands Presidency.
RELATIONS WITH THIRD STATES
- In February the EU agreed a
draft Framework Participation Agreement that defines a standing
framework on third country participation in EU crisis management
operations. The EU will negotiate Framework Participation Agreements
with Bulgaria, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Romania, Russia, Turkey
and Ukraine.
OTHER ASPECTS
- The report briefly covers aspects
of civil-military co-ordination; crisis management exercises;
EU training policy in ESDP; conflict prevention; and ESDP and
terrorism.
The Government's view
10.4 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 17 June, the
Minister for Europe (Mr Denis MacShane) comments fully on the
report:
EU OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY
"The UK fully supports an EU-led military mission
in Bosnia, if and when SFOR withdraws, probably at the end of
2004. We expect NATO to decide on SFOR withdrawal at the June
Istanbul Summit. We have offered to provide the Force Commander
to this operation, which would be under Berlin Plus arrangements,
with DSACEUR as overall operation commander. This will be by
far the most important ESDP operation yet, because of its size
and complexity and as one of the architects of ESDP, we want to
play a full part.
"The UK also welcomes the EU's work towards
launching a small Rule of Law Mission in Georgia by mid-July,
following a request by the Georgian government. This would be
the first ESDP rule of law mission and would complement existing
programmes in the country. To date, while capability targets
for the four civilian ESDP priority areas (policing, rule of law,
civil administration and civil protection) have been met, the
EU has only launched policing missions. The UK is committed to
operationalising all the priority areas, in particular rule of
law. We also support further EU engagement in Georgia and the
close co-ordination between the Secretariat and the EU Special
Representative Talvitie, including use of the new planning and
mission support in the Secretariat.
"We expect the June European Council to welcome
the work under way on developing the EU's planning capacities
and to outline the next steps forward. The Council will agree
the need to take forward work to establish a civilian-military
cell within the EU Military Staff, an EU Cell at NATO, liaison
between NATO and the EU Military Staff, and facilities for establishing
an operations centre if the Council decided to do that for a particular
mission. The UK welcomes this progress and is closely engaged
in the debate on planning.
DEVELOPMENT OF CAPABILITIES
"The June General Affairs and External Relations
Council welcomed the EU Military Committee's agreement on a 'concept
paper' on the development of the EU's 'battlegroups' initiative,
which would provide the EU with a capability to respond very rapidly
in a crisis. This idea emerged from a joint UK-France proposal
in November 2003. The proposal is that groups of about 1500 troops
would be formed to deploy within 15 days of a crisis, primarily
in support of the UN, with appropriate Combat Support and Combat
Service Support. These forces would be deployed to meet a short-term
need until, for example, peace-keepers from the UN arrived. It
does not replace the 50-60,000-strong rapid reaction capability
outlined in 1999 for the Helsinki Headline Goal. Rather, it concentrates
on smaller, higher readiness, more rapidly deployable, more mobile,
more self-sustainable forces. The UK would expect to provide
a battlegroup on her own, as might other nations with large military
forces.
"We also welcome the 'Headline Goal 2010' with
its focus on the qualitative aspects of capabilities - concurrency,
interoperability and deployability.
"On civilian capabilities, the UK welcomes the
Council endorsement of the 'Action Plan for Civilian Aspects of
ESDP'. It will help ensure that civilian ESDP continues to focus
on developing operational capabilities that will enable it to
meet the challenges outlined in the European Security Strategy.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY
"The UK strongly supports the establishment
of an agency in the field of defence capabilities development,
research, acquisition and armaments (to be known as the EU Defence
Agency). The Joint Action on this subject, which went to the
General Affairs and External Relations Council, is the subject
of a separate Explanatory Memorandum (for scrutiny purposes) submitted
by the Ministry of Defence. We believe the Agency will provide
member states with a vital tool to pursue opportunities for co-operation
at all stages of the defence capability development process in
support of our ESDP and CFSP objectives. The UK is keen to see
the Agency up and running by end of the year. We intend it to
be fully engaged in the work on the Headline Goal 2010 and to
make a start on capability evaluation, in particular of the battlegroups.
EU-NATO RELATIONS
"The EU and NATO have established a strategic
partnership, in crisis management, which the UK wishes to see
strengthened. The UK continues to work with other countries to
improve co-operation and transparency between the EU and NATO
in a wide range of areas where both organisations are engaged:
such as terrorism; non-proliferation; capability improvement;
civil emergency planning; and in particular the forthcoming transition
from a NATO to an EU mission in Bosnia.
ESDP AND AFRICA
"The EU is currently looking at the role ESDP
can play in contributing to peace and stability in Africa. The
UK agrees that key to this will be close consultancy with regional
and international organisations, and that any role for ESDP must
be integrated with wider EU policy on Africa.
CO-OPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
"The agreement of a paper outlining the modalities
for EU-UN co-operation in military crisis management marks significant
progress in this relationship. It is designed to further implement
the EU-UN declaration of 2003. The UK supports this and is closely
involved in the development of the EU's relationship with the
UN in crisis management. This ranges from better co-ordinated
national contributions from EU Member states to ESDP crisis management
operations at the UN's request. We will be working to take this
area of co-operation forward, in both the military and civilian
spheres.
RELATIONS WITH THIRD STATES
"The Framework Participation Agreement that
the EU is currently negotiating with eight third states defines
a standing framework on the legal and financial aspects of third
country participation in EU crisis management operations. It
could be activated by an exchange of letters at the time of any
operation to which a third country was invited to contribute.
This would smooth the way for third countries' practical participation
in ESDP operations, which the UK welcomes.
MANDATE FOR THE DUTCH PRESIDENCY
"The UK is pleased to see that the Dutch Presidency
mandate is focussed on key areas — capabilities, the Bosnia
operation, and the development of civilian ESDP. We will support
the incoming Presidency as far as possible in taking work forward.
ANNEX ON "ACTION PLAN FOR CIVILIAN ASPECTS OF
ESDP"
"The UK welcomes the Council endorsement of
the 'Action Plan for Civilian Aspects of ESDP'. It marks a significant
and constructive step forward in the development of civilian ESDP
and builds on the EU's experience in this area over the last few
years. The Government believes that it will help maintain the
momentum generated by the Gothenburg European Council. The proposed
Capabilities Conference will be an important opportunity to integrate
the capabilities of the new Member States and to re-examine the
targets set at Gothenburg. The development of packages and capability
in new areas will ensure that the EU has the range of tools required
to manage civilian crises rapidly and effectively.
"The Action Plan will therefore help the EU
become more capable, coherent and active, and meet the challenges
outlined in the European Security Strategy. As the ESDP police
missions in Bosnia and Macedonia have shown, co-operation with
multilateral organisations, including the UN and OSCE, will be
extremely important."
Conclusion
10.5 The report is eloquent testimony to the
broadening scope of the EU's external activities and partners.
Progress is clearly being made, with the UK apparently playing
an active part in promoting some of these activities — for
instance, in relation to the prospective ESDP mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
which, as the Minister notes, would be the largest and most complex
mission yet.
10.6 We now clear the document.
32 10679/04, paras 57 to 62. Back
33
(25273) - ; see HC 42-ix (2003-04), para 35 (4 February 2004). Back
34
About 1500 troops, allowing rapid EU response to a crisis, under
a UN mandate. Back
35
(25696) - ; see HC 42-xxii (2003-04), para 4 (9 June 2004). Back
36
Stg Co Deb, European Standing Committee B, 22 June 2004,
cols. 3-24. Back
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